


Finders, Keepers

by Anonfeather



Category: Transformers Generation One
Genre: M/M, Minor Violence, Non Consensual, Rape, Spark Sex, Unconscious Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-20
Updated: 2012-02-26
Packaged: 2017-10-26 08:39:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 13
Words: 33,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/280976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonfeather/pseuds/Anonfeather
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt found on the Tfanonkink:</p><p><i>Scavenger likes to excavate and bring home useless junk. One day Scavanger happens to be digging around a recent battle and finds...a half dead minibot. He takes the minibot to his warehouse of worthless stuff and takes care of him like a pet. And since Scavanger only really knows how to find things and not fix them up, it's up to the minibots self repair systems to take care of the damage. </i></p><p><i>Scavenger now shows off all his cool junk to the minibot and gets so excited to have an audience that he can't help but smex the little guy at the end of it. </i></p><p>Complete prompt: http://community.livejournal.com/tfanonkink/3587.html?thread=4991491#t4991491</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> Pairing: Scavenger/Gears  
> Disclaimer: Not mine, Hasbro's and other people.  
> Universe: G1  
> Warnings: Spark-sex, N/C, pet, unconscious partner  
> Chapter summary: Scavenger finds his new treasure.

  
_'Twisted metal ball... Very twisted,_   


 ' thought Scavenger has he picked a large ball of junk. He held it up to the moonlight and poked at it to remove the excess concrete. 

 _'Kind of pretty...'_   


He subspaced the piece of junk and looked around some more. They had battled the Autobots in this area the day before. The fight had been intense and had drawn the majority of both armies. It started out around a power plant a few miles away, but escalated to include the surrounding areas like this overpass. The bridge had collapsed after the seekers had dropped bombs to slow the arrival of reinforcements. However, even that didn't give Megatron more time to execute his plan before calling a retreat.

When the smoke had cleared, the humans closed off the roads and rolled in with some heavy machinery to fix the infrastructure. Scavenger had snuck in to rummage through all of the debris before everything was cleaned up. He was gleefully examining the remains of the fight. He was glad that no humans had been caught in the destruction. It always bothered him when he found a piece that had gotten splattered with organic fluids. Plus, it always made the Autobots stay longer and disturbed the natural destruction while they tended to their wounded allies.

Scavenger had a few hours in front of him before he had to return to base. He'd get to show the others his findings. Maybe this time, they'd agree that he had found something important!

The Constructicon transformed and scanned the zone for materials. Even though the others always rolled their optics when he presented the new additions to his collection, sometimes Hook was thankful if he brought useful building materials. 

His scanner pinged when it picked up Cybertronium, a rare metal that most Transformers possessed. Confused, then exited he started to dig.

“Maybe it's an arm!” 

He knew that no one among the Decepticons had lost a limb, so it must be one of the Autobot’s. He loved hanging mech pieces. Whenever Megatron would tear off Starscream's wings as a punishment, he always picked them up and hung them on his wall. Of course, Hook would always ask for them back to weld them back onto the prissy Seeker. It was always nice while it lasted. With a nice polish, body parts really lit up his dank little hideout.

The last of the rubble was out of the way, and indeed the piece he found was an arm. Transforming to his root-form, the Constructicon pulled the arm. He frowned when he found that it was resisting. He bent down and noticed that it was connected to a body! Scavenger gushed. He couldn't believe his luck.

Like one of those human archeologists, he carefully removed all pieces lying on top of the body. The body was awkwardly placed, but it was so interesting to see how the rocks had twisted the limbs. It kinda reminded him of the ball of twisted iron he found moments ago. But this was even prettier. 

Before he could continue observing the mech, his chronometer went off, informing him that his time was up. The humans would start arriving soon and if they found him, they would call the Autobot’s, and they would want to take his prize away. Gingerly, he cradled the small body and transformed so it would safely be tucked into his cabin.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

 _“Where the slag were you!?”_ demanded his gestalt brother over the comm.-link when he was within range.

“A-At the bridge. The fight place, where the.. fight was.”

 _“Frag-it. Still excavating! We're behind schedule!”_

“Oh....” Scavenger felt bad for making his team-mates work harder by his absence. However, he couldn't contain it any longer. He had to inform them of his find. 

 _“Oh?! That's all you've got to say for the mess you got us in?”_

“No! I got more to say. Do you know what I found?” Grumbles and mutters rang out.

 _“Mech, get your aft here!”_

“Yeah, but-!”

 _“Lob the scrap you found, and drag yourself down here!”_

Scavenger was insulted. Well, if they wanted it that way, then he won't show them his treasure! He detoured to his hideout and deposited his find. When he met with the others, they couldn't understand his smug look. They'd never get to see it then!

OoOoOoOoOo

When he finally managed to extract himself from their work, he rushed to his hideout. His hideout was in the Cargo Bay 5. It was designated to be an Energon depot. But, seeing as they were always low on that resource, it became his own secret place. At first when he claimed it, the other 'cons had wanted to kick him out so it could be another frag room, but his brothers had stood up for him and made sure he kept it. 

Sometimes Scavenger believed they only did it so he wouldn't leave his treasures in their common room.. But, then again he understood their desire not to have so many pieces of art around. Work would get distracting. He knew that he would always be contemplating them! 

During his time-off, Scavenger would recharge in his special room, content to be surrounded by his precious objects. And now, he had found a masterpiece for his collection.

The mech was small, a minibot. A scowl seemed frozen on his face, but that was probably Scavenger's imagination. Under a certain angle, the faceplate was actually very nice looking. Numerous scuff marks and dents were scattered across the frame. The paint job was so scratched that the Constructicon had difficulty determining it was a shade of red. Joints were out of their sockets more often than not. Wires were sticking out wherever they got the chance. The minibot was coated in a fine layer of dust, courtesy of all the rubble that had buried him. Scavenger was pleased by the fact that the minibot wasn't caked in soiled energon. It would take less time to clean. Energon was always so messy, especially when it was dry.

Scavenger had nowhere near as much knowledge of anatomy as Hook, but he did know that severed wires outside of a frame were bad. So he made sure to push each offending piece back in and weld there so they didn't disturb him. Fixing dents and scruff marks were easy. Every mech knew how to do that. He also gave it a new shining coat of paint. He even polished the body, making sure the rest of his collection could be reflected off of it.

Finally, he decided to force the joints back in their sockets. He found it difficult to position the mech seeing as he kept falling back like a rag-doll. It was hard keeping him upright.

A few hours later, Scavenger was proud of his precious masterpiece. If only the others could see it. But, the Constructicon thought against it. They would be jealous, and take it away and keep it locked up and away from him. He had to make sure he could keep it safe from the others. He’d worked so hard and it was so pretty. 

Scavenger sat on floor beside his minibot. He stroked the frame carefully so as not to scratch any of the new, glossing paint. It was so pretty and shiny. He even turned on one of the lampposts he’d found in the street to have more light reflected. Scavenger gushed at his prize and cuddled close to it. He would recharge for a few moments. He always slept so well next to his processions.

OoOoOoOoOo

It was becoming a habit. Immediately when his work with his brothers was finished, he rushed to Cargo Bay 5 to admire his minibot. During the work-cycle he couldn't stop picturing it. He knew his mech wanted him to return as soon as possible. Scavenger made sure he was kept clean and shiny. He even found a large berth made of soft-microfibers and springs. It was a human contraption called a mattress. He found large soft fabrics that fluffed around his prize. He specifically chose colors that would complement the Autobot. The minibot would lay on it and eagerly await his return. 

Scavenger revved at the thought as he approached his hide-out. He borrowed, from Mixmaster, a lovely scented oil. He knew his prize would love to be coated with it. It would make his shiny polish stand out even more. 

“I'm back! I hope you didn't miss me too much” Scavenger called out as he neared. His prize had not moved an inch since this morning. “I made sure I could get back as fast as possible. I know you don't like me leaving you alone for too long.”

Scavenger starred at the minibot's immobile face. “No need to be disappointed. I brought something to make up for it! You'll love it.”

A moment of silence passed before Scavenger piped up again in the silent room.

“Yes, you will. Now hush up.” The Constructicon crept up the edge of the mattress and floated his servo above the minibot's frame. He slowly descended and turned it into a butterfly's caress. “You're so beautiful. Oh, don't turn away; look at me when I talk to you. Haha, you're so cute when you're bashful.”

Scavenger un-spaced the oil he’d got from his brother. It smelled exquisite. A lingering smell of ozone tickled his olfactory sensors. It was intoxicating.

“I.. I hope you don't think of me as too forward... It's a very special oil, meant.. Meant for l-lovers.” Scavenger nervously explained. “I know we haven't known each other for that long. But, hum, but, I can't stop thinking of you..” He took the minibot's hand in his and nuzzled it. “And your touch is electrifying... And I really like touching you. I sometimes can't stop myself! But I do! I'm a gentlemech after all! I don't want to hurt you, and I don't want to force you into anything you don't want to... I know we’re enemies, but we aren't bad. And, I--”

Scavenger cut his sentence off and stayed quiet for a moment. A few times he nodded. His optics shone with unshed coolant. 

Another long silence stretched. Then, only Scavenger's loud engine and his vents humming were heard. “I-I don't know what to say. You're so great... This is like a dream come true...I couldn't ask for more...”

The Constructicon leant forward and nuzzled the other's neck. His servo petting the red plating underneath, digging into the seams, slow but determined. He flared his energy field out. His lover was made so nervous by his enthusiasm that he didn't emit his own field. It didn't matter, tonight was all about showing his treasure how much he was wanted—desired. Ever since the minibot had come into his life, Scavenger had someone to share his findings and feelings with. 

His companion would quietly listen to him, out of respect. He was always polite when he was presented with a new piece for Scavenger’s collection. He knew he didn't have the same interests, he wasn’t artistic, but he encouraged Scavenger to share his discoveries. 

“I never thought someone as perfect as you existed,” murmured Scavenger's into the others audio receptor. An electric arc skipped from the Constucticon's digits and snaked itself into the red bot's frame. He was sprawling across his lover grinding their chests together.

“Will you open up for me..? It'll feel so great. I'm g-good. Yeah?” Scavenger scratched at the chest's main seam. He nuzzled and cajoled it to open. “Don't be timid. I-I know I might be a bit bigger, but I'm gentle. And I'm not going to merge or anything! Not yet. I just want to share the charge. It won't burn your spark, I promise.”

Scavenger convinced himself he wouldn't hurt the other. He knew that excited lovers could cause serious spark burns. It wasn’t for nothing so many preferred using modified medical cables or organic mods for interfacing. But Scavenger enjoyed the intimacy and sincerity of sparking. His spark was alive with so much love that anything else would feel hollow. He wanted to show his lover his appreciation instead of just a quick overload.

The power shovel's energy field was crackling around them when he finally got his lover to open up. He accidentally dented the opening but he'd make sure to fix the cosmetic damage afterward. 

Under the split chest, a small, timid spark glinted. Scavenger wasted no time in opening his own protections to display his own engorged spark. Energy tendril started to reach towards the smaller ball of light and it started to pulse in harmony with the Constructicon's. Where its color had been dull and translucent, now it started to shine brighter, with swirling blue tendrils reaching out to dig for more energy.

“Ah!” cried Scavenger's as his partner's tendrils stretched into his spark. Electricity ran between them, popping and crackling with force. Scavenger rocked their bodies closer together to build more friction. Their chests clanged loudly as the buzzing of their joining became deafening.

“So good! Agnf! Do you want me to give you more?” His usually silent companion responded with a whirl of his engine. Scavenger smirked internally. His lover was coming undone by his berth prowess. The charge between them was extreme. Scavenger decided to add more energy to mix. The minibot twitched under his care.

Overload was imminent. Scavenger couldn't hold it anymore. He hoped the last charge would push his lover over the edge. “Ah, yes!” 

A flash lit the room, and the small electronic devices of Scavenger's collection exploded. Smoke and ozone flooded their olfactory sensors. 

Low on energy, Scavenger slumped over his lover's frame. “That was great! Never had something so intense. Thank you...It meant so much to me.” Scavenger mumbled some more appreciative comments before drifting into recharge. A small, happy murmur leaving his lips.

In the darkness, Gears optics opened. His HUD informed him that he had been in statis lock for several days and that his spark had just been jump started. More information displayed: his energy level was very low. His injuries were great. His self-repair system was confounded by bad repairs and had trouble determining priority.

Gears managed to twitch to the side. Whatever his sensors told him, nothing explained why there was a slagging 'con cuddling his left side! A warning message appeared informing him of immediate shut down from strenuous activity. Gears tried to override the shut-down, but more warnings appeared. Before he gave up against imminent shut down, he ordered his self-repair to prioritize his vocalizer. Hopefully, he'd get some answers when he woke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art: http://pics.livejournal.com/anon_feather/pic/0000a0zf
> 
> Scavenger hugging his unconscious minibot!


	2. Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Summary: Scavenger found a half-dead minibot (Gears) and decided to adopted him as his pet. Gears just woke up from being in statis lock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing/Characters: Scavenger/Gears  
> Warning: Non-Con, disabled partner, pet  
> Author's Note: This is the second part of the 'Finders, Keepers' fic. anontfwriter beta-ed this fic to save everyone from the tone of mistakes I make ;) .

Gears woke up alone in a dark room. His optics, weak by lack of energy, were so dimmed that they offered no help. His proximity sensors were shot; he couldn't feel what was surrounding him. He didn't know how long he had been out because his internal chronometer was frozen. Though, that wasn't new; it often got stuck like that no matter how many times he fixed it.

Gears sighed, but only a simple wheeze left his vocalizer. He replayed the last memories he recorded. He remembered a battle, then an entire bridge collapsing on him. Of course, it had to fall when he passing under.

Well, he was out of the rubble, that's for sure. But he was definitely not in the Med-Bay. He would have heard Rachet threaten someone by now.

Gears tried to look around, but his head refused to move. The maximum it did was to shake an inch to the side with a loud clatter. The warning that popped in his HUD made him stop trying. He didn't want to be sent into forced recharge.

The minibot resigned himself to waiting for something to happen. He knew before even trying that his comm. was down. But, still he tried, and obtained only static. It was broken, or jammed by Decepticons, he couldn't tell.

Minutes passed, or so he estimated as he couldn't rely on his broken time-piece, when light flooded the room. It lasted only for an instant before he was plunged into darkness again. However, he could hear someone shuffling nearby.

“Hey, I'm back.” The shuffling person greeted in the dark room. It wasn't a voice he was familiar with, but he also felt he’d heard it before. Gears conclued, and dreaded that it was a Decepticon. The minibot felt uncomfortable from the jovial tone his jailer possessed. “I hope you didn't get too bored with me gone. I had some errands to run. And look, I brought another lamppost for the room. Seeing as the other, hum, blew-up after...when we..--” The Decepticon stopped, bashful. “Anyways! Can you believe humans just leave these things lying around everywhere? It's like they can't see in the dark!”

A slow hummed occurred, and a soft light that lit the room. Gears still couldn't see much, except a stained ceiling.

Gears released a frustrated curse but it came out as a simple click. The scuffling movement around him stopped suddenly and then approached until he could see who was talking. It was a Constructicon; the horrid green and purple were a dead give-away. Which one? The minibot was uncertain. It wasn't his job to know these kinds of things. He blamed his superior for not keeping him informed enough. Still, he opened his search engine and entered the information. He was glad the program wasn't corrupted. It only took a few seconds before a corresponding face and name appeared: Scavenger.

The Decepticon leaned forward and kept an intent gaze. He seemed puzzled, but after some long seconds he removed himself from eye sight, he puttered around and kept talking. “I rolled all throughout the city to try and find a red one. Can't say it was easy, but I did. I find red to be a really … pretty... color.” If Gears could see the Decepticon he was sure he was shyly digging his foot into the ground. Part of him felt unreasonably sick.

“I also found a windshield! It's cracked, but still very solid. And if you look at the crack side-ways, it kinda looks like the Crystal City landscape. Don't you think?” The Decepticon paused, then resumed as if Gears answered. “Hum, yeah, I guess it also looks like a Hybrid Electro-Convertor too.”

“I'm not quite sure where I should put it... I think on the wall would be a nice place. I could take down the cockpit. Yes, there should be enough place.”

Scavenger moved through his possessions careful not to snag his shovel-tail on a stack. After he unhooked the cockpit, he hung his new art piece. He backed away to look at it from another angle. As he stepped away his pede caught on a discarded disco-ball and he crashed to the floor, bringing down two stacks of materials with him.

Gears found his jailer to be an idiot. The plaintive 'Ow', released by the Decepticon didn't make him give out any sympathy. He's the one that should be complaining, and he would if he could! With his frame paralysed, he could do nothing until his self-repair system did something useful. He’d always told Ratchet he had a slow healing factor and should be given metal supplements in his energon.

Scavenger flailed around as he tried to pull himself out of his junk-avalanche. The grating noise was painful on the minibot's sensitive audios.

Then, the Decepticon had nerve to laugh at himself good-humouredly. “Oh my! What a riot! Hahaha” He exclaimed. “I'm so embarrassed. Now, now, stop laughing. And don't tell the others, alright?”

Not only was his jailer an idiot, he was a delusional idiot. As Gears continued to list what a moron the Constructicon was, a part of him suddenly realised something very horribly important. He was not in the brig like a regular prisoner should be. He spark started to race up with panic, and he tried as much as he could be escape, but his body lay unresponsive.

A sudden memory hit him: Scavenger cooing above him and opening his chest up. Bringing their sparks near and connecting them. A status report told him that his spark had been jumped started recently.

He tried to curse at Scavenger for daring to violate him, but wails and clicks were the only sounds that could be produced. However, all the effort it took to vent his anger attracted Scavenger to his side.

“Are.. are you..?” Scavenger was nervous. He placed a servo on his minibot's chest. When it twitched, he recoiled. “I—I gotta go!”

Scavenger hurried out of the room, knocking over some of his treasure in his flight. Gears shivered in anger long minutes after the Constructicon left. Finally, he received a warning of strenuous activity and was sent into a force recharge.

OoOoOoOoOo

A few hours later, Scavenger returned to his hideout. He paced nervously in front of the door and wrung his servos together before punching in the code. Mechs heading to the Cargo Room 4 for a quick interface eyed him queerly. He felt uneasy. What if, when he entered, his minibot had changed positions? It was not possible for it to be conscious! Maybe Scavenger had imagined the small vibrations in the frame when he placed his servo on it. Maybe the sounds were made by the walls creaking under the water pressure. Yes, that's it! He was just too much into his game that he’d made up those sensations.

Scavenger steeled himself and entered the room. He advanced cautiously, but he quickly remarked that his treasure still lay upon the nest of fabrics he’d built. He was on his back, arms to the side, exactly like last time.

“Er...,” He cleared his throat. “I'm, I'm sorry I left so suddenly earlier... I huh, I remembered I had real urgent task to do.” His lie was bad. He waited for a reaction, but only silence answered. He stepped closer. “Yeah, I left fast b-because Scrapper was calling me over.” He waited, still nothing.

“Usually.. He could call someone else..But, but he really needed me on this job. I had the necessary skills. I had to hum, build a weapon and tower to ...fight. I made it super fast, and it's sturdy. Megatron couldn't even blow it up with his Fusion Cannon. But, he didn't fire at it, of course. Because it was perfect. It followed the plans exactly... Well, not exactly. I saw that there was a design flaw, so I fixed it while building it. The others, they, hum, they were all impressed, you know.” Scavenger was starting to be proud of his make-belief task. If only he was that useful to the team. But it didn't matter, his precious treasure thought he was awesome.

“So, hum,” he scratched the back of his head, “how do find the lamppost I brought back? I never got your input earlier... You like it! Really? I'm so glad you like it. I brought it just for you! I felt it really brought out your paint job.” All the nervousness he felt melted away as he kept talking. He couldn't believe he’d hallucinated that the mech was online. As if he could after the damage he’d received. Scavenger had only done cosmetic repairs after all. Nothing could have pulled him out of a statis lock.

He sat down on the edge of the fabric covered mattress and lifted his minibot into his arms. He pulled him into a loose hug and idle stroked the small digits. He started talking about his collection, and explained some of the replacements he would have to make because of his tumble.

“That mirror-ball thing... It's totally scrapped... It's sad. I really liked it. And we won't be so lucky again, to smash inside another one of those discorama-places.... What? You're saying I should? But,-- Oh, yeah! That's a good idea. After I smash it into a powder, I can add it in some paint! Then I can coat the room, put the lamppost near and have the sparkle effect! I think... This is why I like you so much! You have the best ideas.”

Scavenger gave a tight squeeze and buried his face into the other's neck cables.

“G-get the f-frag off-f me!” Gears gritted out. The Constructicon squeaked and stood up brusquely, throwing the minibot onto the ground.

Gears impacted hard on the floor and smashed his face. He was grateful that his pain receptors were out of commission. He only registered a dull ringing. He tried to move, but nothing responded. He grunted and heard sparks fly from his vocalizer.

The Decepticon had backed away from the damaged Autobot. His back was pressed against another mountain of junk. He refused to take another step, worried he’d destroy more of his collection.

“You're-- You're awake! You're not supposed to be!” Scavenger yelled to the downed minibot.

“S-s-slag-ger,” managed Gears. He was lucky he wasn't put into forced recharge again. Though, he did see the warning message flashing on his screen.

“This isn't right... I'm imagining t-this, right? You can't be functional!” Gears wanted to respond, or curse. Scream. Fight. Anything. Instead, he stayed on the ground, fingers twitching.

Scavenger took a cautious step forward. His spark twisted seeing his treasure obviously distraught. He prodded the minibot with a rapid jab. Seeing as Gears couldn't retaliate, Scavenger gingerly picked up the smaller mech. He carefully sat him on the mattress, his back leaning up against one of his collection stacks.

“You're... awake... I, I wasn't expecting that to happen...You were offlined...”

“ -'m n-not.”

“I- I know...”

“Let m- g-g-go.” Heavy static was lacing into Gears words. It was difficult to talk, especially since staying conscious was a daunting task.

Scavenger frowned at the minibot's request. He couldn't possibly keep a prisoner in his special room. When he was immobile, it seemed possible. He’d had no concerns about it. But now...Scavenger couldn't think of life without his treasure. He couldn't let him leave! He felt so complete. He had always wanted someone to share his thoughts with, and express his love to without being humiliated.

“No.” The tone was determined. Decisive.

“S-Slagg-er,--”

“Shhs, shush. That's enough now.” Scavenger pressed a gentle finger upon Gears' mouth. “Don't talk anymore. Save your energy. I'll take good care of you. You'll see. You'll be real safe...”

“--”

“I take real good care of what's mine. And you're mine; my precious treasure. You'll see, I'll take good care of you.” He petted his possession's face until he saw the optics dim into recharge. He then laid them down on the mattress, and curled around the red minibot. He whispered reassuring words to his dear one, holding it tight around the midsection. “There, that's good. You'll be fine here. I'll be taking real good care of you. Nothing will ever happen to you. I'll make sure of it. You'll love it here. A-and you'll love me. Love me for real.”  
\----  
TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art: http://pics.livejournal.com/anon_feather/pic/0000eyde
> 
> Scavenger cuddling an upset Gears :D


	3. Part Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Scavenger found a half-dead minibot (Gears) and decided to adopted him as his pet. Scavenger must deal with a disgruntled minibot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing/Characters: Scavenger/Gears  
> Warning: Non-Con, disabled partner, captivity, pet  
> Author's Note: This is the third part of the fic. Let's see where this story goes.... anontfwriter beta-ed this fic ;)

-  
“... So then I came back to the battle scene. At first, I though nothing could be found after the fusion blast, but that's when my scanned picked up something. I dug it up, removed the organic material melted onto it, give it a nice polish...And voilà, that's how I found it.” Scavenger looked expectantly at his audience. He had just explained the origin of one of his priceless pieces of art; a half-melted bicycle.

Gears, propped next to a stack of old newspaper stared, not impressed. “It's a load of scrap.”

“N-no it's not,” replied the Constructicon. “It's unique an--”

“I know scrap when I see it,” interrupted Gears. “And right now, everything I laying my optics on is just a big ol' load of scrap.” Gears kept a solid focus on Scavenger.

“I-, I'm n-not! That's mean!”

“Cry me a river.”

Scavenger tried to keep the eye contact with the Autobot's furious glare. But the intense gaze unnerved him and he turned away. He could still feel the cold glare digging into his frame. He turned away and rummaged through his collection to find something else to explain. He pulled out a boat rudder out of a pile.

“Now this is a rare piece. I don't have a much in the water collection... Got this off a boat after we dried up a lake. I did want to take the whole boat, but the other didn't want to help me carry it.”

Gears' glare was maintained throughout Scavenger's little exposé. He said nothing this time, letting his annoyance be explained with his optics. The Constructicon shifted uncomfortably, then hastened to find another piece of art.

“Oh, you'll love this one! I'm--”

“I ain't going to love anything in this slagging room, you moron!”

“D-don't say that,..”he mumbled pitifully. He then presented a fake, crooked conifer tree. Ornaments, mostly broken, with colourful strings, were wrapped around it. He lifted it hopefully in front of Gears while trying to hide from his hateful glare. His minibot was distraught, being far from home and all his friends. He just needed some time to adjust to his new surroundings. “It's human made.. And, it's hum, a celebration decoration. You like humans.. And celebrations...”

Scavenger peeked out from the bush. He wished to encounter a mesmerised look; the same that mini-humans would get when near the tree. He was sadly, unsurprised to find the glare unchanged.

“Slagged-faced idiot! When are you going to understand that I don't give a turbo-fox aft of all your scrap! I don't give a pit's spawn about the tree! Just like I didn't give a pit's spawn about the tire pile! Or about the reversed clock! Or the rainbow blender! I couldn't care less about the light generator! And MOST OF ALL! I won't, and will never, ever, care about you, you delusional, broken piece of Decepticon scrap. How many times do I have to yell it for you to get it inside your thick plating?”

“Y-you're just saying that now.. Be you--'”

“Shut up! _Shut up!_ SHUT UP!” Gears' vocaliser was the only thing fix on his broken body. Yelling, complaning and insulting was the only thing he could do. He wanted to give the Decepticon a good thrashing; beat him into scrap metal like most of the room's collection. Instead, his damaged body could only reply by heating up and clanking loudly as he tried to move. But it never stopped him from trying.

He tried to push himself away from the stack holding him up, but the effort made dangerous sparks fly out. His engines whirled dangerously fast and stalled.

“Stop!” Scavenger cried out. “You'll hurt yourself.” His concern sounded so sincere that it disgusted Gears. The Decepticon tried to sooth the anger out of the minibot with gentle petting. “Please, calm down... Shh, shh...”

Gears grunted in frustration, then let all his effort collapse. A warning sign was on the verge of popping up, he could feel it. His actions were counter-productive, but he couldn't help fighting back. Each day since he’d woken up, the two of them would repeat a similar dance.

Every non-battle day, Scavenger would happily enter the room and regale the minibot with stories of the different objects in his room. Gears would slowly lose his patience, throw a fit until he was drained, then his body would shut down to conserve the small amount of energy he had left.

A few minutes passed while Gears' systems calmed down. Scavenger was pleased when his precious treasure relaxed under his touch. “There, there, sweetspark. Everything is going to be okay...”

“Leave me the frag alone.” Gears' energy was depleted. His voice was low; tired.

The Construction kept touches light on the Autobot's frame. He cupped the face and nuzzled the side. “Okay, I'll let you rest for a while. You've been really good today.” Scavenger picked up his minibot and carefully laid him on the nest. He squeezed him tight before leaving.

The room's light dimmed as his jailer left. Gears tried to fight off recharge so he could plan an escape. But he lost the battle again today and shut down.

OoOoOoOo  
A few hours later, Scavenger came back to the Cargo Room 5. As usual he had a little bounce in his step as he neared his special room. The mechs he encountered gave him a queer look before going on their way to their destination. The Constructicon blissfully ignored them. Only Swindle's smarmy smile made him self-conscious.

Quickly, he punched in the code and turned on the lamppost. His gaze landed upon his slumbering minibot and he instantly felt at ease. He looked peaceful and so quiet. He fondly reminisced about the start of their relationship, before the ...difficulties settled in.

Scavenger slid near and carefully lay down on the mattress so as not to jostle the other awake. He let his digit skim over the minibot's chassis, slowly bringing the other out of recharge. He liked these moments. His companion always gave out a few small murmurs of pleasure before on lining his optics. Small static energy started to build up in the areas where his digits skittered.

“Hhn..ah,”

“We should do this more often,” Scavenger whispered. “I know you enjoy it. You just have to let yourself go.” The Constructicon desperately wanted to hear sigh of acceptance. Instead, he heard a click of annoyance as the minibot woke up.

“Would be better if _you'd_ let me go.”

“You know I can't do that.”

“Yes you can, you slagger!”

“Please, let's not go over this again!” He forcefully pleaded. “The evening started off quite nicely. Let's keep it that way.”

“Frag no!”

Scavenger vented to calm down. He continued his ministrations, though the serenity of the previous moment was gone. He hoped that maybe, just maybe, his lover might melt into his touch like their first time.

“And stop touching me!”

“But you like it. And you want it!”

“No I don't! I don't! Get away! You're a sick glitch! I don't want any of this, I don't want your touch, spike or you fragging spark!”

“But it was so great that night when w--”

“SHUT UP! I was in statis lock! I wanted nothing from you, you disgusting oil-retching Decepticreep!”

“You wanted it!” Scavenger was quickly losing his patience. He would never force his delicate lover! He wanted it, or else he wouldn't have done it. But his treasure kept insisting that it wasn't desired. It was common to give consent while in statis lock! Why couldn’t the Autobot understand that? “Your spark wouldn't have responded if you didn't want it! You reached out for it. You spark was humming for me! YOU ASKED FOR IT!”

“Fragger! Unconscious reaction! I can't understand how you can stand up with such an empty processor.”

Scavenger sat up, and moved away from the minibot. The mood to get romantic had left them. He vented some more, to lower his anger. Luckily, Gears kept quiet.

“Why do you have to be so disagreeable...?” He asked quietly. He needed to mend their relationship. “I'm making really big efforts here to make this work between us..”

“This is unbelievable,” muttered the immobile mech. “Okay, I'll explain in small words so you can get the facts right.”

Scavenger perked up. Finally, a real _serious_ conversation. That was a good step in the right direction!

“Me, Autobot. You, stupid Decepticon.” Gears' condescending tone started rebuilding the Constructicon's ire. But he kept silent; it was his lover's turn to speak, he should respect it. “Me, hates you. You, creepy Decepticon. You, moron. Me, wants to go home. You, still stupid. You, keep me in stinky hole. Me, kept away from home. Your fault. Me, hates you more.”

Gears hoped that was clear enough. Even the slow-witted Dinobots could grasp what he was saying! “You got that right? I could dumb it down to binary if it helps you to process it.”

“I understand that you miss your friends,” Scavenger started calmly. The minibot groaned; the Decepticon didn't even grasp the essence of the problem. “And I promise that when the war's over, you'll get to see them again. And, we'll have a better place to live in. I try to make this room liveable. I keep changing the decorations. But I can't make miracle out of this cargo room. You just have to be patient.” The bright green mech petted Gears' chassis. “And I know what you're frustrated because of your physical state...”

“I can't freaking move, you aft!”

Scavenger politely ignored the interruption. “It's a difficult period, but when I'm off duty, I make sure to be with you as often as possible to keep you well. How many 'bots have ever been this devoted to you.”

“Obsessed, you mean.”

“I'm _devoted_ , not obsessed!” He reprimanded with gritted denta.

“Oh, and you're certainly not crazy!”

“Of course not!”

Gears barked with mean laughter. “Please, do us both a service and put me out of my misery. Just terminate me now, like any other of your _not-crazy_ friends.”

“That's not going to happen! I'm taking care of you! I'm making sure you're well! And happy! I'm giving you anything you want!”

“Freedom?”

“Of course not! I don't want you to get hurt. And you'll get hurt out there. There's a war going on!”

“Really? A war? I didn't know!”

“Don't be sarcastic now.”

Gears grunted in frustration. The Constructicon had moments of lucidity between all his unsettling moments of delusion.

“You know I managed well on my own before you started _taking care_ of me.”

“A bridge fell on you.”

“The others would have dug me out.”

“They didn't. I did. And they never came back to the site. They’ve never questioned were you've been. They don't care for you as I do.”

Scavenger had to be lying about the Autobots. Of course he wasn't an important officer, or a well like crewmember, but he was still one of them. His rescue would just take longer. It's not like they knew where he was. He guessed his presence wasn't known by the other Decepticons.

“Please,” he asked subdued, “let me go.”

“No, I can't. And that's final!” Scavenger came near and caressed the other's face. “I can't do it. But I'll give you anything else then.”

“Fine,” consented Gears. Then, an idea was starting to build itself into his processor. It continued to grow as he started talking. “I want energon then.”

“Wha..?”

“ I'm hungry! I'm running on fumes here! ”

“B-but, we, we're rationed...”

“Don't care! You said I could have anything else I wanted? Energon. Bring me a lot. All you got! ”

“Well you know.. It's a figure of speech,..”

“Oh so you're backing out on your word? Should have known a slagging moron like you would do that. Can't trust a word you say. Say you care about me, but can't even make sure I'm feed!”

“I-, huh. No! I'll get you some! Don't worry,” Scavenger worried about upsetting his minibot.

“Good! Get it now!”

“Oh, Now, really?” Gears glared. “Right! Of course!” Scavenger hastily stood up and headed to the door.

“And get me a TV too! A big one. And a radio!” The Decepticon tilted his head in confusion. “You work all the time, I get bored when I'm alone.”

“Yeah, but...”

“Find it! Who knows, maybe I'll start believing that you care for me. Heck, I might even believe you're not as worthless as you seem.”

“I-I'll do my best to find one!” Scavenger was filled with determination. He was the best at finding stuff. He’d get everything that his lover asked for. He'd see that he was such a good provider that he wouldn’t be able to resist.

Gears waited a few moments before sagging. Then, he nervously started cackling at his predicament. “Primus hates me.”

\----  
TBC


	4. Part Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Scavenger found a half-dead minibot (Gears) and decided to adopted him as his pet. Scavenger's having a bad day. Gears has to either deal with the situation, or make it worst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing/Characters: Scavenger/Gears, Swindle, Scrapper  
> Warning: Non-con, disable, pet/doll, captivity, violence  
> Author's Note: Big thanks to eerian_sadow for beta-ing!

Scavenger decided that the best way to get the energon was to ask Scrapper for more. When came time to refuel, Scrapper always took away their rations. Then he divided and redistributed it among the team. If he thought they needed more, either because of an upcoming battle or for a job well-done, he always managed to produce more.

“Why?” however, wasn't a question he thought he'd have to answer. In his mind's eye, everything would have gone smoothly. He even imagined Scrapper smiling as he handled the cube over and tell him what a good job he's been doing recently. “Scavenger, I expect an answer. Why do you need more? You've done nothing of merit.”

“I..huh, I fell..While carrying my cube..It spilled?”

Scrapper looked at his gestalt-mate gravely. Scavenger felt insecure under the gaze. He hunched his shoulders and brought his tail-shovel closer to him, trying to make himself a smaller target. Scrapper was obviously analysing him. Finally, the Constructicon leader pulled out a sealed cube from his subspace. “Pathetic idiot.” He said with disdain while he held it in front of the power shovel. But before Scavenger could take it, he pulled it back and focused his optics on him once more. “You know, you haven't been spending a lot of time with us recently. What did you find that keeps you so preoccupied in your hovel?”

“N-nothing!” Scavenger answer hastily. A little to fast actually. Scrapper bore into him. “Well, I mean, nothing that would interest you guys. You.. you guys keep telling me stop bothering you with my, my collections!”

“And since when have you ever cared about bothering us? I hope you haven't brought something I'd disprove of.” Scrapper took hold of Scavenger's chest pipes and pinned him to the nearby wall. “Should I take a look to make sure?”

“No!”

“No?” The hand on his chest pipes constricted.

“P-please don't.”

Scrapper considered the pleading mech and released him. “Very well then. I do have better things to do than supervise your findings. However, I do expect for you to be more present among us.”

“Y-you missed me?” The tone was surprise and hope.

“No.” The leader of the Constructicon answered succinctly. “I like to know what my mechs are doing.” He handed over the energon cube. Scavenger was crushed by the words. He didn't even have the chance to rejoice from obtaining the free cube when Scrapper added: “Here. I'm deducting a portion of your following eight rations to make up for your clumsiness. Now get out. I've got important things to attend to.”

 

Scavenger didn't feel any pride from obtaining energon for his minibot. He felt draining by the small encounter with his gestalt leader. He worried the next time he'll have to join all of them in their common room. He knew that they would haze him; there hadn’t been a chance for them to do so in the past days.

OoOoOoOo

He made his way to the Cargo Room 5, but without his normal gait. His pedes were shuffled, and his shovel-tail hanged low enough to drag on the ground.

“Hey, babe, why so glum?”

Scavenger immediately recognised the voice and fake sympathetic tone that came with it. He wanted to ignore Swindle and keep going. But the Combaticon was nothing if not tenacious; especially when he had a goal in mind.

“Get out of my way, Swindle. I don't want to talk to you.”

“Aww, don't be like that, honey.” Swindle wheedled his way in front of the taller mech, and walked backwards to keep the conversation going. He tried making eye contact, but Scavenger avoided his gaze. “You know, I've been missing you sorely.”

Scavenger frozed and even spared a glance towards the other's large purple optics. His sparked skipped a beat hearing those words. He always wished to be missed and cared for. But his mind kindly replayed events that occurred many months ago. Swindle was a born deceiver and know exactly how to play him.

“You're lying.”

“No I'm not.”

“Yes you are! You always lie! You made me believe...” Sadness crept into his spark. Then his emotion changed to anger. “You stole my collection! And you sold it!”

“Not everything. Just the good things.”

“They were mine!”

“Can't be still sore about that? Come on, babe. I said I was sorry.” Swindle got into his personal space and trailed his servo up the other's arm. The servo then caressed the plating above the Constructicon's spark. Scavenger's frame heated up and his spark buzzed when he gazed at Swindle's charming smile. “Sweety, I made a mistake. You know how sometimes greed takes over. I thought we could start over.”

“...” Part of Scavenger wanted to believe the smooth-talker. His words and mannerisms were want he always desired, but...

“You can show me your ju-collection again. I'm guessing you found something very special recently. You can just give me room's code and I'll come --” Scavenger pushed the smaller mech away.

“Do you think I'm stupid? That I'll fall for that again?”

“Now, now, sweetspark, I never said that you were stupid....” He drawled.

“Go away and leave me alone, Swindle! I don't want anything to do with you, you pit spawned glitch!”

The Combaticon's pleasant smile shifted to a sneer. “Fine! Enjoy your treasure.”

The encounter didn't help Scavenger's mood. Not only did his brothers noticed his absence, but the slippery sales-mech as well. Swindle's curiosity and greed were triggered. How far would he go to find what valuable item he found? Scavenger didn't want to deal with this new stress.

 

oOoOoOoOo

Finally, he made his way back to his hide-out with heavy dragging pedes. A brief, small flare of hope sparked when he thought of his minibot. Maybe the red Autobot would have a sincere smile seeing his return, and thank him for the gift. But as the door opened in the dark room, his spark of hope extinguished. He knew the other would be mean, again. As always. Still, he decided to try.

“Hey, I'm back! And I've got your energon.” He called with forced enthusiasm. He turned on the lamppost to brighten up the room and his mood. He also took out the cube and laid it atop of a stack.

“Took you long enough!” His treasure grunted in reply. “And do you have make the light so bright?!”

“Well, it's not like it has a dimmer!” Replied a peeved Scavenger. This wasn't starting off well. “And I've hardly been gone for long! You were in recharge anyway. It's not like you noticed!”

“My engines been processing fumes. I think I noticed how long it took.”

Scavenger decided not to answer. Instead, he picked up the lamppost and moved it further away from his lover. He shouldn't be getting the direct light now.

“Idiot! I can't see anything now!” Scavenger brought the light source a little closer. “And now, we're right back to where we started!” Complained Gears. He almost found it funny how the Decepticon did his biddings.

“It's not where it was before! It's okay now! I'm not moving it again!” Snapped Scavenger. He didn't need the attitude right now.

“It's fine if you want to fry my optics. And where's the TV?”

“I didn't get it yet!”

“Then what are you doing back? I said I wanted one!”

“I know! I didn't have the time. It took longer with Scrapper. And then Swindle stal--”

“Excuses. I don't think you can even find one.”

“Yes I can!”

“I'm not seeing one, now am I?”

“Argh!” Scavenger screamed. “Fine! I'm going!” He stormed out of the room. Gears grinned to himself. It was so satisfying frustrating his captor. A breem passed and his engines tried to pump something from his empty tank. He suddenly realised that the cube of energon was still resting on a pyramid made of old jukeboxes.

“Aww, crap.”

OoOoOoOo

While Scavenger was away, Gears tried to stretch to get the energy source. He managed to move a finger. Although the achievement was far from what he desired, he was glad. It was a small start informing him that his self-repair was still functioning. With the cube, the self-repair could work in over-drive and make him regain partial mobility. He just needed to have enough arm movement to be able to fix himself with the materials Scavenger fetched. And once that's done, he'd make a weapon and a transmitter... Or something. Repeating his plan in his head like a mantra, his body drifted into recharge. He needed to conserve every ounce of energy until he could get the buffoon to feed him.

He was woken up with a start when Scavenger barged back into the room. The Constructicon grumbled something and shuffled near. Gears couldn't stop himself from commenting with an acerbic bite. “Make more noise, why dont'cha?”

“For once, I would like you to greet me nice! I've been working my aft trying to find your 'TV'.”

“Yeah right. It took hours before you came back! Here I thought you were this expert finder or something. Can't even get something as common as a stinking television.”

“Hey! I have another job other than fulfilling all your whims! I had to find a ton of iron, and two miles of copper wires.”

Gears processed the information. This could be useful. “Why would you need all that crap?”

“Don't know. Starscream requested it. He's building something.”

“What's he building?”

“I don't know! A weapon I guess! I don't ask why we needs the materials. I just get them! Now where do you want this thing?” He held up the television so the minibot could see it.

“It's, it's broken, you moron!”

“It might still work..?”

“The screen's shattered, all the wires are all sticking out of the box! I think someone used it as targeting practice!”

“I did my best!”

“You're best is crap! Can't believe you can't even do a simple task! Idiot!”

“I..I..” Scavenger gritted his denta together.

“You, you what? Too stupid you can't even talk right, anymore?”

“That's enough!” He threw down the broken appliance and it shattered on impact. “I've had enough! Stop being so mean, and nasty! I'm kind! I make effort! I'm always working hard to please you! And you, you're just lying there, and demean me all the time. So stop it! You should be nice to me!”

Gears laughed cruelly. “Oh! So you just wanted me to be nice? You should have said something! Here I thought I was kept here against my will and should make your life miserable. Sorry, I guess I was mistaken. I'll try to be nice. Let's see...Where to start. I would start with how a nice day it is outside, but I happen to be confined into this pit-ugly room. Oh, sure, the fantastic crap you bring in each day does liven the place. It looks like a junk-yard. Granted, an organised junk-yard...”

“You don't like the room! I get it!” The Decepticon stepped in, cutting the minibot's rant.

“Like it? I wished I had a place like this back home! Every piece of broken scrap that I find I could just put it there.

“It's not broken scrap!”

“Get your optics checked you fool!”

“It's not scrap!” Gears gave a cynical bark of laugher. “It's not! It's not! Stop it!”

“Scrap, scrap, scrap. Kinda like you. Guess that's why you enjoy being surrounded by it.”

Scavenger crisped his servos tight and furiously pushed over a stack of what seemed like meticulously placed tires. He proceeded to kick a fire hydrant that sailed into a large mirror. His tail-shovel whiped around a smashed the Christmas tree he proudly presented.

The sound of destruction rang loudly through the room. Gears was stunned silent. It seemed he pushed the Decepticon too far this time. Without a pause, Scavenger took out his blaster. “W-what are you doing?”

“Turning all of this into scrap! Won't that make you happy?! All of you think my collections is junk, that's it's not important! Should get rid of it all. Shouldn't care about it!” He punctuated his speech by blowing up the decorations on the walls, including the Crystal City windshield. When everything on the walls were shattered, he started aiming on the stacks.

A piece of burning debris fell and landed on the fabric covered mattress Gears was laying on. Quickly, the silk tissues started to burn. “Hey!” cried Gears. The flames licked their way closer to his body. “Slagging pit! You dope! I'm gonna melt here!”

Scavenger turned his anger filled optics towards the minibot. In hindsight, maybe he should take his chances with the flames. He was mostly fireproof, after all.

 

But it was too late. The Constructicon grabbed hold of his chest and pinned him against an angel statue. Gears was violently reminded that he was dealing with an obviously deranged and enraged Decepticon, and not some loony fool. “You were a lot less trouble when you were in stasis lock!” The hand on his chest constricted. “Maybe you should go back to that state!”

“What are you waiting for, then?” Gears could never stop himself from goading someone into a fight. Scavenger kept his optics focused on Gears' glare.

“This is your last chance... Be nicer when I come back. Or else, I, I... Or else!” He let go and the other tumbled down. Scavenger left him sprawled on the floor.

The minibot coughed and breathed in relief. Guess annoying his captor to the brink of madness was now out of question. He'd be nicer. Try at least. He hoped he could manage that.

\- - - - -  
TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art of a scene in this chapter: http://pics.livejournal.com/anon_feather/pic/0000hcc2


	5. Part Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Scavenger found a half-dead minibot (Gears) and decided to adopted him as his pet. The aftermath of Scavenger's tantrum.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing/Characters: Scavenger/Gears  
> Warning: Non-Con, disabled partner, captivity, pet  
> Author's Note: Big warm thanks to eerian_sadow for beta-ing this part TWICE and helping me with wonderful advice.

Gears woke up to the sensation of being picked up. Scavenger had apparently returned and was carrying him back to the half-burnt mattress. He had fallen into recharge after he strained himself trying to get in an upright position. He didn't know how long he had been out, but he preferred to keep quiet to avoid rekindling the Decepticon's ire.

“I'm sorry about earlier...” murmured Scavenger once Gears was safely positioned in his arms on the mattress. All the nice fabric he had found was wasted, burnt to a crisp. Most of the large gym mattress had been salvaged though. His voice was low, almost inaudible. It was clear that he wasn't aware that his minibot was conscious. “Sometimes.. I get really, really angry. Yesterday wasn't a good day. Scrapper was mad at me. Told me I should spend time with them. Soon. Not always fun. Then Swindle came along. It, it hurts when I see him. He can be so nice and sweet, but then he.. changes. Gets nasty; says mean things.” Scavenger cycled some air and sighed. He gave a tender squeeze. “Anyway...I didn't mean to threaten you...”

“'Was a bad threat anyways,” muttered Gears out loud before he could stop the comment. He briefly got annoyed at his big mouth, but continued talking anyway. The worst was done, his captor knew he was awake. “I mean, just: 'or else'. Or else what? Lacks a certain amount of imagination.”

“...” Scavenger was startled by hearing the other speak, but decided to ignore Gears' quip. “You're awake. Good then...” The silence was awkward. Scavenger didn't know what to say, while Gears strained to keep quiet and not insult the Constructicon again. Another tantrum was the last thing he wished to provoke.

The silence was broken by Gears' empty fuel tank pumping up air. The sound attracted both their attention and their optics met.

“'Still have that energon..? I could use some...,” Gears politely hinted.

“The energon...Oh! Yes! Yes, I do!” Scavenger laid the disable bot gently down, stood up and carefully avoided the debris while making his way to the cube still resting on the jukebox pyramid. He made his way back and sat near his minibot. He brought his servo and hesitated before caressing Gears' cheek. Seeing as the other mech didn't spit out a thousand of obscenities, he laid it down and softly caressed the face.

Gears cycled some air and forced himself to relax. He had to get the fuel if he ever wanted to heal. He kept his mouth shut as the Decepticon kept tracing his digits across his face. He even avoided growling when the digit trailed downwards the strayed above his chest. Finally, after numerous minutes of waiting, Gears patience failed.

“That energon's going to get stale, you know...!” He made sure that his tone was pleasant, but a hint of impatience passed through his lips at the end.

“Oh, yeah. Sure.” Scavenger unsealed the cube. “But, energon doesn't get stale.”

“Pit! Feed me!”

The tall mech stopped his movement, gave his captive a cold stare.

“Pleee~ase, ” pleaded Gears. Surprised, but unbelievably satisfied Scavenger brought the cube to the others' lips. Gears immediately took a large gulp and tried to get a second one in, but Scavenger removed it.

“Careful, not too fast. Some of it dripped. Here.” Scavenger rearranged their positions.

Gears head was now laying on the Decepticon's thighs. Before the feeding could continue, Scavenger carefully wiped the fallen drops. His digits lingered and took the advantage to caress the minibot's face for a second time. Gears patiently waited through it. The rush of energy through his system helped keep him distracted from the action. He could almost feel the energy being converted in his fuel tank.

“There you go..” Scavenger said pridefully. A servo raised Gear's head and tilted it to have an easier access to the energy source.

The cube was brought back, and Scavenger angled it to allow only a small trickle to flow into Gears' mouth. Midway through the feeding, he pulled the cube away again. Gears moaned in disappointment, but he wasn't as vocal as he could have been. Half the cube was more than enough to fill his smaller frame. He even felt light-headed by the rush and amount that was coursing through his body. After such a long starving period, it felt nice to have the energon's heat.

“I'm sorry.. But I have to make this last. We don't come by energon very often. Everyone's rationed, and I can't get more.. They'll get suspicious.. More than they already are.”

“Suspicious of what..?”

“Of, of you... They'll want to take you away.” The admission gave Gears the confirmation that Scavenger was alone in his imprisonment. This could mean that even if Optimus contacted Megatron to offer ransom for his missing soldier, the warmonger couldn't actually accept a trade.

“I'm here to protect you... If they get their servos on you, they'll do terrible things.”

“Refuse giving me medical treatment? Keeping me captive? Starving me? Taking me against my will?”

“Worse!” Of course the Constructicon ignored barb. The conditions he named were just the few things Scavenger had done to him. He left out 'boring him to death with inane babble about junk.'. He was trying to be nice after all.

Absentmindedly, Scavenger petted Gears' helm. The minibot didn't protest the treatment; he was unsure if it was because he was trying to be nice or the slight overcharge the energon brought him. His optics shuttered on their own, but for once he wasn't dragged into force recharge. They stayed in a companionable silence for a few moments.

That is until Scavenger bent forward and placed a chaste kiss on Gears' lip components. The mouthpiece that was usually securely placed had been removed. The minibot's heated circuits suddenly ran cold. He tried to disengage, but Scavenger pursued his head movements. He kept his mouth tightly shut, denying the access to the other.

Scavenger tried to find a weakness with his glossa, but abandoned when lover obviously didn't want his attention. He pulled away and let out a small plaintive lamentation. His minibot's docility had let him hope that maybe tonight they would be intimate again. His spark had whirled inside his chassis in hope. Now he was charged, but his treasured one was obviously still upset from their previous argument.

He let his servos' trailed up and down the smaller one's frame. He flared his field and tried to make static built up between their frames. But the red mech quickly absorbed the energy instead of out-putting his own. It was a clear sign of refusal. The verbal refusal also didn't help the mood.

“Stop it, stop it, stop it. Stop touching me, fragger.” Gears kept muttering through gritted denta. He tried to stop himself from talking. He needed to avoid upsetting his captor again, but the constant touch and the energy build-up was repulsive. He had to let something out, or else he'd explode in a flurry of screams and insults. “Stop it. Don't. I don't want to. Stop.”

Finally, the touches and the energy field receded. He heard Scavenger sigh unhappily before feeling the other laying down and curling up to his side for recharge.

If he could, Gears would move away from the Decepticon's body. But, as he was unable to do so, he tried to calm himself down.

“Shhh.. Shh... There, there sweet one. It's okay,” Scavenger said as he comforted him. It didn't help. “It's okay for tonight. I'm not going to pressure you into doing something you don't want to do. But we're going to have to talk about those issues one day. It's important to have good communication.”

Gears felt the other nuzzle the back of his neck. He shuddered in a mix or fear and disgust.

They both tried to fall into a somewhat uncomfortable recharge. Gears feared another wave of advance if he let his guard down, whereas Scavenger felt charged and wished release. The Constructicon tossed and turned and tried to keeps his thoughts away from the delightful minibot at his side.

It would feel so wonderful to have the other writhing under him has their combined energy mingled. Their sparks' energies would dance tightly around each other until became so compact it would explode in a myriad of colour.

“Are you recharging?” asked Scavenger with a soft whisper. The Autobot kept silent. “I-I know that right now you don't really want to...Be intimate...And, I guess I respect it. But.. But I'm a mech, and I work hard, and I've got needs. You have to understand, right? I hope you won't be mad. That you'll forgive me.”

This was it! Gears braced himself to feel the servos upon his frame. But instead, he felt the tall Decepticon stand from the bedding and leave the room. The soundproof walls prevented Gears for gathering where and what his captor decided to do.

He waited. And waited. There was no sign of eminent return. Gears was both worried and relieved. Although he tried to stay awake, the fear and paranoia left him and he slipped into an uneasy recharge.

OoOoOoOo

Gears woke up to the sound of Scavenger moving around. He berated himself from falling in involuntary sleep-mode. He had enough energy now to stay awake for as long has he wanted. He worried that the Decepticon would come nearer and cuddle him some more. Or try to instigate an interface session. Instead when their optics locked his captor sent him a small wave.

“Oh! I didn't want to wake you up while I was preparing.”

“Preparing..?” Gears noticed that he had been recharging for numerous hours. What had the Decepticon been up too when left?

“Didn't I tell you?”

“You tell a lot of things. Most I don't give a rusty nail about. You'll have to be more specific.”

“I was certain I mentioned it before... There's a raid planned.”

“Where?!” Even though Gears couldn't warn the Ark he still felt it was his duty to obtain as much intelligence. “Was that where you were last night?”

“Don't know, ”said Scavenger. Then he appeared slightly uncomfortable with the second question. “You noticed I left..? I, huh, no it wasn't related to the raid...”

“Then what was it about?”

“I had to take care of something. I should get going..”

“But you don't even know where you're going! Don't you guys plan anything?”

Scavenger was relieved that the conversation went back to the raid. He couldn't face his lover and tell him that because he was so charged earlier he decided to visit a neighboring interface room. If you entered one, you were sure to get laid after all. Scavenger detested those rooms, but he felt the need to use one as to avoid guilting his lover into an interface. His beloved treasure obviously had hang-ups when it came to being intimate. Soon, when time would allow it, he'd make sure they have a long conversation on the subject.

He hoped that his infidelity wouldn't damage their relationship too much. It was an important value they both shared. But in their current hardship, it had to be excused. The encounter wasn't even as painless as he desired, but it did allow him to get a good recharge afterward.

When he returned to his hide-out in Cargo Room 5, he was pleased to see that his lover was sound asleep. He took the opportunity to observe his sleeping minibot. He felt bad when he noticed that his absence caused his lover to frown during recharge. He resisted the urge to sooth away the discontentment.

“Are you even listening to me?” Asked Gears, interrupting Scavenger's thoughts. “I asked you if you knew anything about the plan?”

The Decepticon seemed genuinely confused by the questions. “I'll be told later.. I guess. Devastator will be needed today, I think... Probably.. That's why I'm going.”

Gears never liked encountering the huge merged robot on the battlefield. It always meant very bad news when it went on horrible rampage. Usually they had an obligation to take down at least one member of each gestalt to avoid a merging before resuming their normal defensive stance. If a gestalt was formed, they had to move quickly out of the way and hope their own gestalt could join the fight.

When he wanted to ask more questions, Scavenger cut in.

“I have to go. Scrapper really hates when I'm late... And I'll probably stay out after the fight. The others want me.. They want me with them later. Maybe it won't be too bad. If we're lucky, we'll have a celebration and full rations! Maybe even high-grade! That'll be nice. I'll make sure to get you some. I'll see you as soon as I can.” Excitedly, the Decepticon took the minibot's hand and nuzzled it as a farewell.

Once the Constructicon was out of the room, Gears tried his comm link but wasn't surprised that it was still on the fritz. Pit, even if he was operational, it was most likely jammed. He needed to try and fix himself and send message to the Autobots. If he couldn't manage escaped he could at least help his friends by warning them of plans that his fool captor accidentally gave away.

The minibot checked his systems and was pleased to know that with his recent energon intake he could set his self-repair into over-drive. He commanded his nanites to focus on fixing the mobility issues in his right arm. He asked for a time estimate on the repairs and his HUD displayed about 18 groons. He could do nothing else than wait.

This was going to be a very long and boring day. He really did wish that he had that television. He would have been able to catch up on his soap and discovered if Mary's twin bastard children were her father-in-law's, or if her estranged sister did in fact impregnate her with that glowing syringe.

\- - - -  
TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art: http://pics.livejournal.com/anon_feather/pic/0000saw3
> 
> Scavenger feeding Gears the energon.


	6. Part Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Scavenger found a half-dead minibot (Gears) and decided to adopted him as his pet. Gears is left to his own boring devices while Scavenger fights for the sake of the universe!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing/Characters: Scavenger/Gears  
> Warning: Non-Con, disabled partner, captivity, pet   
> Author's Note: Glad you guys are still with me! I would also thank eerian_sadowfor still being with me for this part! Yay!

After a few hours of silence while his self-repair worked, Gears was growing immensely bored. When he discovered that he could now close his hand, he kept clenching the air. The novelty of the act wore off quickly. He could also leisurely turn his head around and scan his environment. A vast improvement from the previous inches he could get by straining.

As he took in his junk-filled surroundings, a fleeting thought occurred to ask Scavenger where he managed to find seven foot long pair of sandals. He cursed at the though and brought his gaze on something else.

His optics focused on another object and he wondered if the humans made a scandal about the removal of a gold plated church's bell tower. Did the Constructicon tear it off while roaming the lands, or was it picked up as debris after a fight? The minibot groaned in annoyance and chased away the stray thoughts that desired the other mech's presence. He regretfully realized that the Decepticon was actually a source of entertainment in his otherwise very boring condition. Gears usually wanted the aft to shut up when he was there, but apparently being kept alone with nothing to occupy his mind was worst. When he thought of asking for a television and a radio, he had planned to use them to build a transmitter or at least use the wires to fix something on his body. However, now he really did wish to have them for entertainment.

After playing connect the dots with the stains on the ceiling for an umpteenth time, he hoped against hope that the idiot would return, if only so he could rattle on the battle. How long did the battle last? Was it an important fight? Could this decided the end of the war? As much as he hated to admit it, he was anxious to see the Constructicon's return.

His idiotic captor has been gone longer than an usual battle. Could it mean that the Autobots failed; that Megatron got the upper hand against Optimus? What would happen then? Or, Primus be blessed, maybe the Autobots succeeded into permanently defeating the Decepticons. That's be great, but considering Gears' rotten luck, they'd probably forget to look for him; too joyous about their victory. While everyone was out there celebrating and deciding the fate of his race, he would be rusting inside the enemy's base, incapacitated, and contemplation why there was a kimono-dressed rubber chicken holding a life-guard vest.

After deleting the many theories that cropped up about that ... piece of art, he heard the room's door swish open.

“Hello~!” Sing-songed Scavenger has he stepped into his hide-out. His steps were uneven and he tripped on his shovel-tail as he approached. He recovered his balance before crashing in some of his collection's remains. “Woah, haha. I'm okay.”

“You're never okay,” quipped Gears.

“Tut, tut! That's not very nice.” Though Scavenger's words were disproving, his tone was light and cheery. Before Gears could start a rant on how nice he could be, Scavenger shushed him up with a digit on his mouth. “Don't ruin this evening! It's a good day, today!”

“It is?” Gears had a sense of dread fill his fuel tank.

“Oh yes! Wonderful, wonderful fight today! I was awesome. We even got to celebrate!” Indeed, Gears suddenly got a whiff of the reeking smell of high-grade rolling off of Scavenger's frame.

“You're intoxicated!”

“Nope!” With a drunken manoeuvre the Construticon sprawled himself near his minibot and pulled him into a tight hug. “Okay, yes! It was great when we won! You should have seen me. I was kicking and throwing mechs around. They didn't stand a chance. I'm sure you would have been very proud!”

“You want me to be proud of you hurting my friends?” The new position and the conversation caused Gears to be edgy.

“Oh... Right, your friends... Erm, they're okay? I didn't go after the medic, so he got to reach everyone of them. I think... I'm rather sure... So, that's good? Like I said, good day today! And,” Scavenger pulled a small, blinding bright cube from his sub-space. “High-grade! Like a promised.”

“Don't want it.”

“But I brought it just for you!”

“And I said I didn't want it. Shove it up your tail-pipe and leave me alone!”

“Don't be that way!” Scavenger didn't want to take no for an answer. He brought to cube up Gears' lip component. The minibot refused to open, keeping his mouth tightly closed. He tossed his head around, trying to get the offensive cube away. Impatient, Scavenger firmly held the head with one hand, and forcefully pried the mouth open. It wasn't hard to mechhandle a paralysed bot.

The high-grade was poured through the small forced opening. The half that wasn't spilled Gears' face by the struggle, was being chocked on. The Decepticon had placed a servo on his mouth, preventing him from spitting it back. He removed it once he was certain it was swallowed.

He beamed with satisfaction, knowing that his gift had been accepted. He even found it cute when his treasure coughed. “You're such a light weight!”

“F-Fragger!” the Autobot wheezed. The foul tasting, oozing liquid trickled down this throat. He knew some of it went in a wayward direction and would clog up his vents. He hated when his filters rattled with obstructions. Each time he drew in air, he could feel the situation getting worse.

“Oh, don't be mad. I'm sorry, I should have told you that Mixmaster's stuff is potent. You probably never had something so strong. You're a really messy eater, you know. You've got some spilled everywhere on your face.”

“And whose fault is that?!”

“Calm down, dear. I'll get you clean up.” Scavenger's playful tone was unnerving. Quickly, the Constructicon's mouthpiece was removed, and glossa started cleaning off the liquid.

“Get off! Stop it!” Gears trashed his head away. The taller mech had no other choice but to change position to help him keep the other from moving so much. It wasn't long before Gears found himself pinned down, large servo on each side keeping him from moving. The glossa targeted every nook and cranny where the high-grade has slipped. Scavenger also took the opportunity to tease the red mech's neck-cables.

The minibot felt the others' engine whirl and heat up. When he thought that his captor would push further, the assault stopped.

“There! All clean,” chimed Scavenger.

“You stopped?!”

“Of course. Unless you wanted me to continued?” Scavenger tried to leer as he was resetting his mouthpiece.

“Pit no! Get away!”

“Because I could, I mean, make you overload, if you want. I'm not-.. I'm okay right now. Had to spend time with the others...But I could... Play with you.”

“No!”

“Maybe it'll get you to relax a bit. Be at ease..?” A servo trailed around chest and traced the invisible seams that would open up his spark chamber. “You just have to open you chest, and I'll stimulated your core. Give it a nice warm charge. Or something more intense?”

“Slag-pit! Don't touch there.”

Scavenger gave a small, pitiful sigh. “Why? Why don't you like to be… intimate? Did something bad happen..?”

Gears had the most incredible urge to facepalm. Barring that, he groaned. “Primus...”

“Come on, you can talk to me...” Scavenger looked insistently at the minibot, no intention of letting the subject drop. Gears however, had every intention of steering the conversation elsewhere.

“How you guys win?”

“What?”

“Today's battle. The play by play. What happened?”

“We can talk about it later. Right now, we're having a very important discussion. We can't just go on and ignoring it. It's for your own good.”

“... I, I'm not comfortable right now with…that topic.” Gears' lie was as truthful as it could be. Nothing would ever make him want to have that conversation with anyone, especially not the simple-minded Decepticon.

“...”

“And.. And really, if it's for my own good, won't it be better if you're sober?! What kind of lover are you? Intoxicated during a serious conversation!”

“OH!” The sudden reprimand made him realized his situation. “You're right… I'm… I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking right...”

“The pit you weren't! Yeah… SO, let's keep the subject… fun. That battle. Tell me what went on.” He'd gather as much information as he could. Anything could be useful if he got out of this pit hole.

“Well, we headed to the given coordinates, and laid in wait until we were ordered to combine. Then, things got fun. It's a bit fuzzy, but I was awesome.”

“What was the target? A plant?”

“Maybe, don't remember. Besides, that's the boring part anyways.” Scavenger seemed to have calmed down from his earlier glee. He tried to get a replay of the battle to work, but most was static. The memories were split into six individual of the gestalt. It was not possible for one of the Constructicon alone to get a complete replay when they were merged. He only remembered the exhilarating rush as Devastator moved and fought. For once the battle didn't end with them abruptly falling down in separate components. Their battle lust was sated, and they mutually disengaged. After the fight, he had felt closer to his team than he had in a long while. He wasn't even as reluctant as he thought he would be about joining with them. He had an intense day, an exhausting after battle and his high-grade rush was wearing off. His optics dimmed behind the visor.

“Hey, don't fall into recharge before giving me details!” Gears barked.

“But I'm tired now. I'd like to sleep.” The Constructicon laid down comfortably down, and spooned his minibot. “It's berthtime.”

“Well I'm not tired! I spent the whole day in-between power-naps, small recharges sessions and resting my optics! I'm supposed to go a few more hours like that, with nothing to keep me busy until you wake-up?”

“Yes?”

“No. Give me the slagging battle details!”

“I'll do it tomorrow.”

“You can hardly remember things right now. You'll forget everything by then.”

Scavenger sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Look, I don't want to talk about it anymore. My processor hurts trying to recall the fight. But,” the Decepticon sat up, dragging his paralysed companion into his arm. “We could talk about what I wanted to earlier...And if you're so full of energy, I could help with a dischar--”

“Pit no! Don't even go there again!”

“You're so closed off. I think it'll do you some good to get it off your chest. We need to do this for you; for us.”

“There is no us!”

“Not with that attitude.” Scavenger chided. He idly played with the small servo.

Gears, for once in a long while actually felt the pressure and the tingles associated with the movement on his servo. It seemed that his nanites had reconnected some relays there.

“Fight, details, now!” insisted the minibot.

“I thought you didn't want me to tell you how I beat your friends.” Scavenger remarked smugly.

“Don't use my arguments against me!”

They feel silent after Gears' last burst. Scavenger started nodding off again.

“The.., slag, can't believe I'm going to ask this,” started Gears. “The Eiffel tower maquette, in the corner over there...It's made completely of rubber bands, isn't it...? Where, or how did you get it...?”

Scavenger turned his optics back on. He scanned the room and settled his focus on the object in question. He had forgotten all about that piece of art. Seems that when he cleaned the room the other day some old treasure resurfaced.

“Oh! It's a great story! You want me to tell you?”

“I'd actually go for something else, but I'll settle for that.” Gears muttered. “I'll lose my mind if I don't have anything to concentrate on.”

“Well, it all started when we had to go to the European continent. Don't remember the reason, but anyways!” Scavenger started chattering away on a far off mission his team was required to do. Gears vaguely remembered something about it, but he had been dispatched somewhere else to help haul potatoes. Sometimes the Autobot tasks to help the humans were not very dignified. But from what he was gathering from the Constructicon, sometimes the Decepticons also had to perform useless and embarrassing tasks.

“So! That's how I got my hands on that little marvel,” concluded Scavenger. “Do you like it?”

“It’s nice enough, I guess.”

“Oh, if you thought that was interesting, I should show you the feather painting!”

“Feather painting...?”

“Yes!” Scavenger carefully extracted himself from his position. He made sure that Gears was comfortably leaning against a stack. The Decepticon rummaged around before exclaiming a delighted yelp. “Found it!”

He came back and held in one servo a metal plate, where hundreds or feathers were melted on it. It looked like a colourful and fuzzy Rorschach painting.

“What in the pit is that?” As Gears observed the painting. He though he saw a pair of scissors cutting a helmet. He shook his head to remove the image. He briefly wondered if his prolonged stay with the Decepticon was causing his processor to melt. It probably was. How else could he explain that he was actually intrigued by the little show and tell that was being offered?

“Well, when we were in the southern continent, the Coneheads flew into a flock of tropical birds. Their turbines were stuffed with the feathers. They had to blow the mess out with maximum power. The plating underneath melted and kept all the feathers! Awesome, isn’t it?”

“Morbid actually,” mumbled Gears. He still couldn't take his optics off the feathers. When he crossed his optics, it now looked like a dog doing a back flip to catch a Frisbee. He shook his head and spared a glance at the tall mech in front of him. It was funny, he could almost see the dog inside the Constructicon. He was so dumb but always so eager to please.

“Oh! Oh!” Scavenger excitedly placed the painting down, and dived behind a large pile of junk. “You'll like this too! It's great.”

Gears waited for the idiot to come back. With the quantity of stuff packed in the room, the minibot wondered if Scavenger could actually find anything. “What's taking so long? Got lost along the way?”

“Hum, no,” came the far off reply. “.. I don't have it anymore...”

“Destroyed it in your tantrum?” Gears mentally hit himself for bringing that up again. Best to keep the conversation light and happy. Frustrating the Decepticon was a big risk, and he didn't want a repeat of that episode.

Scavenger popped in his field of view with a dejected look. “No... I think, I think it was.. sold.”

“Sold, who the heck buys this scrap-- I mean, these, erm, unappreciated decorations...?”

“I don't know.. I tried to find out, but....” Scavenger said as he came closer. He looked defeated by discovering the loss of his piece of collection. He took a place on the mattress and pulled Gears to him. An annoyed grunt left the smaller mech's vocalizer, but otherwise allowed the action. “He took so much stuff. I thought I still had that.” Sincere regret seeped from his voice.

Gears felt a twinge of sympathy, but quickly squashed it with anger. He wasn't supposed to feel any compassion for his captor. That was just plain stupidity. He wanted to press the other mech for questions, but Scavenger spoke again.

“Can we go into recharge now..?” His pleading tone was heavy with apparent sorrow. He pulled his minibot closer, seeking comfort, as a human child was wont to do with a teddy bear.

“Let go of me,” Gears whispered in automatic response to the physical contact.

“... Please, not this again. Just, go to sleep..Please?”

“..Fine,” he grunted. “Fine. Sleep.”

Gears was pulled into another hug, and felt the other take his usual spooning position. He heard the other engine slow down until only a gentle whirl was audible. Sighing, Gears powered down as well; his self-repair acted faster that way anyway. He still had 10 groons left before his arm would be functional. Then he could start to be more proactive in his escape. Or at least slap Scavenger in case he became too amorous again.

\- - - - -

TBC


	7. Part Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Scavenger found a half-dead minibot (Gears) and decided to adopted him as his pet. Scavenger is very stupid...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing/Characters: Scavenger/Gears, Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave  
> Warning: Non-Con, disabled partner, captivity, pet  
> Author's Note: A thousand thanks to eerian_sadow for the beta-ing :D. Nothin' else to add.

Scavenger awoke when he received a screeching comm from Starscream requesting his presence in the Command Room. Wincing, he muted the sound. He was glad to see that his treasure was still in deep slumber. He had worried for a minute that the second in command's loud voice would have disturbed the smaller mech's recharge.

Quiet moments like this were what Scavenger enjoyed the most in his relationship. He could hold his minibot close to his spark without hearing complaints. They were going through such a rocky patch, that Scavenger was often at wits' end.. He had trouble connecting with his lover. Or, and he didn't like admitting it, it was his lover that was building up the defences.

Scavenger reluctantly removed himself from his comfortable position. He would have liked to spend a few breems looking and cuddling his minibot before going on duty. Sadly, the more time he wasted, the more irritable Starscream would become.

His movements caused his lover to awake. “Erm..? Wha..?”

“Hey, sorry I woke you up. I just got called on-duty.” Scavenger said reassuringly.

The red mech flickered his optics a few time to dissipate the recharge haze. “Slag, the nightmare persists...,” he muttered softly.

“Yeah,” agreed Scavenger. “You'd think they'd let a mech have a full cycle-off, wouldn't you? But no... They always need something even if they promise they won't call you in.”

“...Yeah, sure, that's what I was talking about.” As he said this, Gears rolled his optics. “So, what's the estimated time before you come back?”

“Don't worry, I'll be back as fast as I can.”

“...Great...” The minibot's tone was dull, borderline depressed.

“A-are you okay? You look upset...”

“Oh this, you notice?” Gears asked with incredulous surprised. The Constructicon's insight always came when he least expected it.

“Of course I do! Why wouldn't notice! I don't like seeing you upset! What can I do?”

Gears grumbled lowly instead of giving an answer.

“Honey, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong!” Scavenger reprimanded. He tried to make sure it was said as light as possible, but he knew that some impatience slipped through.

“I do tell you! I tell you all the slagging time what the slagging problem is! But you don't LISTEN! Pit, I don't even think you can listen!”

Scavenger wanted to retort. He was being very understanding and patient! His lover was the one with the problems, always refusing to communicate, being unpleasant and not even trying to get their relationship to work. It was like he was trying to avoid the situation entirely. He cycled some air to help himself calm down, but his servos still shook with anger.

But then, as Scavenger gazed into the other mech's optics, he noticed the rightful anger present. He started to question his own actions. Maybe the situation was partially his fault... He's been constantly busy lately, always leaving without notice. And then he remembered how he acted a last few days ago. He shamefully realised that he wasn't as great has he claimed to be. He lost his temper, he given in to temptation and interfaced with someone else. He even disrespected his lover's need of space by continuously seeking physical contact. The minibot was after all in pain from the accident that led to their encounter. It was more than understandable that he might not want to be in the mood for physical intimacy. And he was so far from his friends, with nothing to keep him occupied while Scavenger worked and worked.... Even the simple request of getting an entertainment system wasn't fulfilled! His sweet 'bot probably given up on thinking he was good provider!

“Is, is this about.. The TV?”

His lover sighed deeply and shuttered his optics in frustration.

“Is it..?” He asked again. “It is, isn't it? I knew it! Look, I'm so sorry... I know I promised it.. And I'm sorry, I'm very sorry. I've been awful lately... Everything been going wrong, and I think I took my frustrations out on you, and, and then you took your frustrations out on me. It's a vicious circle, but at least we're aware and we can break it, and then work on the issues together! Right after I'm done with whatever scrap Starscream wants, I'll find you a TV. A cute one, with those metal prongs on top.”

Still the small mech refused to look at him. “Please.. Please say something..”

“It's not about the TV.” Gears answered, voice flat.

“Are you sure..? I mean, I know you don't really want to hurt my feelings... But you're bored aren't you..? When I'm gone..”

“Primus help me...!You have no fragging idea what the pit is wrong! How wrong you are! It's so unbelievable that I think my processor is melting.”

“I'm trying my best to understand!” Scavenger huffed. “And I promise that I'll make it up to you!” He pondered an instant, then pulled something out of his subspace. “Here, it's not much, but it'll keep you occupied while I'm gone.” In the Decepticon's hand was a standard, slightly beat up datapad. Before Gears could complain on the crappy offering, he was placed in a sitting position, leaning against a stack of junk.

The Constructicon placed the pad in the minibot's almost fully functioning servo. He now had enough mobility to navigate on the touch screen.

“Like I said,” resumed Scavenger. “It's not a lot. But I'll load you some cyber-novels or something....”

“What is it?” Gears asked dubiously. He looked at the main screen, and tried to get what the icons were supposed to represent.

“It's just my work pad. It shows the Nemesis and what needs maintenance and--”

“Wait! These are the ship's blueprints?!”

“Oh, and the inventory, room assignation, instruction manual, construction history and all that boring stuff. It'll be something to keep you occupied until I can come back. Is it okay..?”

Gears had become silent since realising what he held in his hand. He actually froze, shell-shocked.

“This! This is fantastic!” Gears wasted no time accessing the data. The pad was filled with little annotations on what needed to be fixed, how long it would take to do it and which mech was responsible for the task. There were other notes on the last time a maintenance was done in a sector and when the next was scheduled. This was pure gold! The Special Ops mechs never ever got anything as detailed. If he could bring this back, or at least memorise the content, his stint with the sappy Decepticon would be worth it!

“R-Really? I didn't know you enjoyed such technical stuff...”

“I love it! Bring me more of this, and I could kiss you!”

“R-REALLY?”

“Pit no!” His denial was said with a joyous smile. Scavenger was momentarily confused, but decided to take Gears' refusal with good humour.

“I'll do my best to try and find some more.”

“Sure. Now bugger off.”

“You're right. I'm running late.” The Constructicon headed to the door. Before exiting, he took a last glance at his lover and was renewed with enthusiasm as the other mech was deeply into the impromptu gift. His spark fluttered with delight and couldn't wait to come back.

OoOoOoO

It was uncommon for Scavenger to enter the command room. As he stepped inside, he wondered why he was called in. The few times he came it was for maintenance. Maybe he shouldn't have been so hasty to mute Starscream. If he actually listened to the second in command, he'd be informed about the situation.

Inside the room, he noticed that Soundwave, the diligent communication officer was at his post. Megatron was seated on his throne while Starscream strutted around, a scolding smirk on his faceplate.

Scavenger didn't want to draw attention to himself, but he knew it was mandatory to inform the SIC of his presence. The Air Commander had an awful temper. It always was worse when he was in one of his moods. And by the way the wings were held high, and the continuous pacing, the Seeker was agitated. Scavenger somewhat hoped that his dalliance in his hide-out forced Starscream to call one of his brother to do the demanded task.

“Hum..” the Construticon cleared his throat. “Sorry to bother..”. Starscream quickly snapped his attention towards him. However, before Scavenger could salute his superior, the main monitor flicked on.

“Incoming hail request from Autobots.” Droned Soundwave.

“Accept,” ordered both Megatron and Starscream. The leader of the Decepticon glared at his second in command for overstepping his boundaries. But, the presence of Optimus Prime on screen prevented Megatron from blasting Starscream for his impertinence.

“Megatron!” Called Optimus to his faction counterpart. “I accept your conditions for the release of Autobot Gears.”

“Very well Prime. I'm glad I could count on your soft-spark!” Megatron chuckled darkly. “I eagerly await your presence at high noon for the prisoner exchange!”

Soundwave didn't hesitate to cut off the transmission after his leader's speech. Prime's angry glare dissipated in a flurry of static.

Scavenger, having witnessed the exchange froze, then loudly blurted out. “Prisoner exchange?! We h-have a prisoner?”

“Of course not you, fool.” replied Starscream with his usual acerbic glossa. “Those stupid Autobots think that we have one of theirs. We're just taking advantage of that. They are willing to exchange a metric ton of energon for one of those worthless minibots. Of course, when the time comes for the exchange, they'll get their hands on a decoy.”

“An exploding decoy.” Informed Megatron with a chuckle.

“Yes.. Exploding decoy.” By the way Starscream was boasting, the plan probably come from him.

“So there's no prisoner..? None..?” Scavenger was panicking.

“You idiot! If we had one, everyone would know!”

“Good.. Good, you're sure.?” His last question earn him a hard slap over the helmet by the Air Commander.

“Would you stop being bothersome? You got the list of the materials I requested earlier?”

“N-no..?”

“What in the pit were you doing while I commed you earlier telling you what I specifically needed to build the decoy!” Starscream had dangerously invaded his personal space, forcing Scavenger to backup until his back hit a console. He ducked his head inside his shoulders, trying to melt under the heated glare.

“I-I muted you..”

“You what?!” The Seeker's dreadful high-pitched voice pierced his audios.

“I”m sorry.. I--” A backhand stopped his apology. Starscream rose his servo to deliver another hit. However, the deep rumbling laughing arising from Megatron diverted the Seeker's ire.

“What a good idea! You should be permanently muted, Starscream.”

“And you should be permanently offlined!” Screeched the Air Commander towards his leader. As the two started to squabble, Scavenger tried to duck away from the room. He needed to go back to the cargo room, and quick! He needed to make sure that--

“Constructicon Scavenger: List of material needed.” Soundwave called before he could step outside. The tape deck stood in front of the exit zone extending a datapad. He expression was unreadable, as always. Scavenger worried before accepting the pad. When he took hold on it, Soundwave didn't release his grip immediately. “Rush to cargo room: Reason?”

“I-I have some of the materials!”

“List: uninformed.”

Scavenger was saved from answering by a fusion cannon blast against a pretentious Seeker. Soundwave, unshaken, released the datapad and turned his attention towards his quarrelling superiors.

Scavenger didn't hesitated to run out of the room. He had to make sure his treasure was still in his room! Starscream admitted not having the Autobot, but then again, Starscream was a liar. A dark dread loomed inside his spark by the single thought of having his treasure removed.

As he neared his room, he noticed a mech hanging around the place. He wanted to dismissed it as being a horny soldier, but has he approached it became clear who it was and what he was doing.

“Get away from there, Swindle!” The called-out mech raised his head and tried to hide his hacking tools behind his back.

“Oh! Weren't you supposed to be on a mission?”

“I said get away!”

“Now, now bab--” Swindle never got a chance to charm his way out of his situation. Scavenger punched any reply he could have made into silence.

“I said go away! Away! This my room!”

The force of impact made the Combaticon crumble to the floor. He held his jaw in stunned silence, then glared maliciously. “Fine, I'm leaving!”

Scavenger trembled waiting for the smaller mech to be out of his line of sight. Quickly he entered his security code into the door lock. He breathed in relief when he noticed his minibot in the same position he left him in. The red bot seemed calm, and undisturbed by the loud commotion that his spark was making.

“Back already?” Gears asked sourly.

“I, I had to come back. Make sure everything is fine!”

“Things were great before you came back. Now scat!”

“Yeah, yeah, of course.” Although Scavenger agreed with the order, he made no motion of leaving the place. He nervously paced in front of the door, muttering lowly to himself.

“Frag, what's gotten into you?”

“Nothing!” Looking at the door, then at the position where the red bot was lying, Scavenger hastily started moving some objects around. With all the stacks cluttering his hide-out, he could make a maze and prevent any intruders finding his treasure!

“You're redecorating?”

“Yes! I am!” He kept moving some parts around, and build a small fortress at the end of the room.

“I think you lost whatever little sanity you had.”

“Shush now. I'm concentrating. This is important!” Scavenger snapped impatiently. The tone sobered Gears' nasty intention of bothering the Decepticon. Something happened, and he didn't want to get the brunt of a new tantrum. He let the Construticon pushed the objects around, making walls and strange jumbling pathways. Then Scavenger came to him and picked him up. He couldn't stop himself form crying out:

“Hey! What'cha doing you big lug!”

“Just... Doing some modifications... You'll be better there. It's safer, I mean, comfortable.”

“I was satisfied where I was.” His new nest was placed inside of a little hovel of junk. It was slightly suffocating although he did appreciate the fact that it was too small to allow Scavenger to enter; unless he wished for everything to fall. “It's darker in here.”

“It's just temporary. Until I come back.”

“Uh-uh.”

“Yeah, I'll find you a better place. Prettier!”

“What's going on...?”

“Nothing! Now, now I have to go.” Scavenger hesitated, then left the minibot's side. After taking a few steps, he returned, nervously twitching. “Is your designation.. Gears?”

The question surprised Gears. It came out of nowhere. “Yeah, that's it. Why the frag are you asking now?”

“N-Nothing! Okay, see you soon!” Again, the Constructicon left his side Gears shook his head and turned his attention back to the datapad. He needed to memorise the maximum of its content before the moron realised blunder and took it away.

\-----  
TBC


	8. Part Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Scavenger found a half-dead minibot (Gears) and decided to adopted him as his pet. Intruder alert! Intruder alert!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing/Characters: Scavenger/Gears, Swindle, Cassette  
> Warning: Non-Con, disabled partner, captivity, pet  
> Author's Note: Give your love and thanks to eerian_sadow for being awesome and beta-ing this!

Gears was in peace once Scavenger left again. He quickly scanned the contents of the datapad and mourned the fact that he didn't possess photographic optics, or a hacking wire to download the contents directly. He was going to have to force his processor to remember every detail. He even decided to partition a very small part of his processor in-case he crashed or got... damaged by an amorous Constructicon. The latter was a rather big possibility. At least what he would manage to store would stay intact.

He sighed. He hated partitioning; it always gave him processor-aches. But at least it gave him something to do instead of waiting for the fool to come back. Besides, his new location didn't give him a good view of the junk masterpieces that were in the room to distract him. He hated to admit it be he was rather comfortable in his hovel, with all the silly knick-knacks creating the walls. There was one that sparkled when he tilted to head to the right--

“Okay, stop wasting time! You've got work to do!” Gears murmured, trying to motivate himself. He needed to do as much as possible before the idiot returned after all. A few minutes in, he suppressed yawn. The documents were rather bland, and tedious even if they were filled with information. It actually reminded him of Prowl's reports. Still, remembering this information was much more vital than the mandatory paperwork Prowl wrote, so he pressed on.

Two hours later, while he was half-way through the memorization of the main floor, Gears heard the door swish open. Could Scavenger be back already? Before he could mutter his frustration for the interruption, he heard a voice that didn’t belong to his captor.

“Great job pipsqueak! We’re in!”

“Tch, don’t go doubting my skills.”

Gears stopped circulating air. It seemed that Scavenger had intruders in his lair. The sudden redecoration made sense now. Part of Gears wanted to attract attention. If they found him, they would bring him to Megatron and the megalomaniac would contact Optimus to gloat on the capture. And sure enough, his soft-sparked leader would accept the ransom to get him back. He could be back aboard the Ark in a solar cycle!

However, falling into the intruder's servos would put him in dangerous position; more than staying in Scavenger’s care. After all, he was starting to know how to handle that idiot. The intruders would probably torture him for a bit for entertainment before bringing him to Megatron. And Gears was not a fan of pain.

Finally, what made him stay silent and hoped to be overlooked was the fact that if the Decepticon got hold of him, the priceless information he currently held would be taken away. Not only would they remove the datapad, but the taciturn telepath Soundwave would dig into his processor to extirpate any information he might possess. Might as well just go through a complete reformat than be near the freakish tape-deck. Gears internally shuddered at the though of being at the mercy of the Decepticon Communication expert. So, he shuttered his optics and keep quiet and in the dark in his small little hovel. He could clearly hear when they started moving around and rummaging through the junk..Their footsteps seemed to indicate that they were only two of them. And when they spoke, it just confirmed Gears' suspicion on their number.

“So, huh, what exactly are we lookin' for, Swindle?”

“I don't know yet.”

“Wait, wait, wait. You begged me to break into this place to get your grubby servos on a piece of slag that idiot found and you don't know what it is?”

“I'll know when I'll find it, okay?! Just shut up and help me you runt!” Swindle was obviously testy.

“Oi! You don't go talking to me like that! I can always go and tell Soundwave what you're up to. He won't be please knowing you're screwing with Constructicon's territory. Again.” The second mech obviously didn't like the tone the Combaticon was using. It took a moment before Swindle spoke again. But when he did, his tone was suddenly sweet and charming.

 

“Oh, now, now, now my dear Frenzy. Please, let's not get Soundwave involved in all of this. As you know, he's a really busy mech. And my actions are saving him the trouble from investigating the area. I mean, I'm doing this for the sake of the Decepticons. The mo-- I mean, Scavenger has trouble realizing the importance of what he finds. And his teammates just keep ignoring his findings. Somethings can be very dangerous left laying around. And other time, he just doesn't know how useful something is. So it's up to me to check out what he finds.”

“So everything you're doing is for the good of the Decepticons cause?” Gears could tell that the other mech -Frenzy- was dripping with fake nativity. It took a moment for Gears to pinpoint who exactly was Swindle's companion. It was one of Soundwave's symbiote, the red twin of the earth shaking punk Rumble; the one that hardly ever came on the battlefield.

“Naturally,” replied Swindle to the cassetticon's question.

“What a load of smelted scrap! There's nothing important here. You're just being greedy, and Scavenger just being his junk-humping self. I'm gonna tell Soundwave an--”

“Nononono...!” Swindle said hurriedly. “Let's leave Soundwave out of this. And, instead, let's make a deal, okay? I know that you and your brother've been longing to have a new gaming console. Well, I know a mech- well, actually, not really a mech- more a cross between a mech and an energy source. Anyways, he's got contacts that'll let me get you a genuine Varloknian virtual BoomBrambleBex!.”

“Never heard of that!”

“Not commercially released yet! What do you say? It's yours if you don't tell Soundwave, and keep searching for Scavenger's treasure.”

There was a silence and Gears eagerly awaited the answer. If Soundwave got here, he'd obviously be discovered by the telepath. But, if Swindle was the one continuing the search, he might get overlooked. Maybe Swindle would get his servos on an actually valuable item, believe that it was Scavenger's precious treasure and leave the room! Oh, who was he kidding! Soundwave was going to come and melt his processor! What a shame he wasn't equipped with a self-destruct button to avoid the torture.

“Okay, fine.” Frenzy relented. “I won't tell the Boss. But the treasure better be real. And you better deliver what you promised or else me an' Rumble are going to beat your aft in.”

“Of course! I knew you were a reasonable mech!” The rummaging continued in relative silence. Gears' fuel pump pounded inside his chassis. With his functioning arm, laid it over his chest to tried to muffle the sound. He always told Ratchet to check out it out because he found it rattled too much! But no, the medic thought he was exaggerating! This was hopeless, he's going to be discovered. Gears felt despondent and that got his fuel pump to return to normal low rhythm. The certainty of his eminent capture actually worked into calming him down. After all, there was no need to make things worse by panicking. His doom was near, might as well be a mech about it.

“Hahahaha! What in Unicron's aft is this?” Frenzy exclaimed. A series of squawks followed the exclamation. Gears recognized the particular sound belonging to a rubber chicken. Probably the one dressed in a kimono. “I'm so keeping this!”

“What?!” Called Swindle. “You can't steal his stuff! He'll notice.”

“Isn't it the purpose of the break-in? Take what we want?”

“Yes, but not, obvious stuff...”

“Oh, so you think he's going to notice if something's gone?”

“Yes. And he's rather possessive of his things. So, put that back, okay?”

“Hum.. How 'bout no? It's not like I'm the one that's going to be blamed after all. If something if going to happen to his collection... He's gonna go to the prime suspect.” Gears was imagined that the small red cassette was pointing to the Combaticon. The following fumble for words from Swindle gave Gears the confirmation of what was happening.

“Do that, and the deal's off!”

“If the deal's off, then I'm telling Soundwave.” Frenzy cheekily replied.

“Erm, okay, fine.. Keep it! Just, don't take anything else.” Again the rummaging started again. Gears heard the steps from the heavier mech coming closer. He un-shuttered an optic and peeked out. He could he see some movement from his sanctuary's opening. Swindle was getting closer. Only a matter of astro-seconds before he was discovered. He could see it now; a look of utter surprise followed with a predatory grin upon the dealer's faceplate as he calculated the profit he could make. Maybe he could bargain something with Swindle when discovered. He could convince the greedy mech that the Autobots would pay for his return. Swindle could keep all the profit if he made sure that the higher ups didn't know. Gears though it was a good plan. Actually, he honestly believed it to be awful and wanted to slap himself for considering it. He went back to his original plan and keep quiet. As Swindle crept by a sudden clatter of glass shattered the room's heavy silence.

“What the frag are you doing?!” Swindle yelled. He pedes moved away from his location in a hurry.

“Destroying stuff,” replied Frenzy with a manic glee.

“Why?!”

“Why not? I'm bored.” Another loud crash a fragile item resounded again. “And I realized I can totally trash all this ugly junk without any repercussions.”

“Stop it! Are you mad!” A crazed little laughed answered Swindle.

“No, I'm having fun! I wonder how Scavenger's going to react to the destruction you just caused.”

“That I caused?! Don't break tha--” Swindle's warning was muffled something fragile breaking.

“To late! See, I'm curious to see if it's going to be like last time you destroyed his scrap.”

“I didn't destroy it, I just... found some other junk-I mean art aficionado to buy them.”

“Pit! Same difference.” Frenzy laughed. “Oh, I remember last time. Got it all on tape. He wanted to tear your aft apart. Ol'Megs had to actually intervene. And then we had that raid where Devastator was needed. Buuut! Instead of trashing the humans defences he went straight for you. Total embarrassment for the Decepticons. At least the Autoboobs never heard about it. And luckily for you, your teammates didn't hate you at the time. They combined into Bruticus to to keep you safe...”

“Shut up you little runt!”

“But now that they hate you too, I doubt they'll combine this time... Eh, I think they might throw you at him. Oh, I can't wait to see it.”

“If, if that happens, I can't get you the BamBratBeat!”

“BoomBrambleBex, slagging liar. This is a waste of my time. There's ain't nothing but crap like this!” A rifle powered up and a shot resounded, followed with the destruction some of Scavenger's collection. “Y'know, The longer we wait, the more destruction I can make. So, you wanna keep searching?” There was a pause. Gears was sure Swindle was calculating the gain versus the risk. “If it helps to make you decide faster, I promise I won't tell anything to Soundwave of what happened here.” The offer actually surprised Gears. But it seemed to be the right thing to say, because Swindle accepted.

“Okay, let's go.”

“Good mech!” The door swished open and the mechs' footsteps started to fade away. Just as Gears let out a sigh of relief, he faintly heard Frenzy talk again.

“Oh, by the way,” started Frenzy again with a cruel teasing edge to his voice. “Remember when I said I wouldn't tell Soundwave..?”

“Yeah..?”

“I lied.”

“Y-you--”

“Yeah. He already knows, you moron! Ha! He's the one that told me to accept hacking the door. And~, he wants to see you now. You know he doesn't tolerate in-fighting between the different teams. And your actions just caused a major provocation. Oh, and a word of advice. Run. Scavenger's already back on board. Won't be long before he hunts you down.” The smaller mech's cackle was abruptly cutoff by the closing of the door.

A breem passed, and Gears was still nervous about his near discovery. He tried changing his mind by studying the datapad. But the stress kept him from focusing; Gears was still too high-strung to concentrate. Besides, what was the point when his captor was returning in a few moment. Oh, he hoped that Scavenger wouldn't take the destruction of parts of his collection out on him. Gears' would prefer a depressed cuddle session over a tantrum. Pit, the cuddle might actually soothe him.

Gears didn't have a chance to berate himself for that horrible though before the door opened. The shuffling steps seemed to belong to Scavenger, but the minibot didn't want to risk it. If it was his captor, he'd know soon enough. The steps were slow and hesitant, as if the Decepticon was accessing the damage. Then, the steps were racing to his location. Soon enough, the construction mech's visage appeared in the opening.

“You're okay!” Scavenger called-out in relief. “I, I was worried that something happened. There's glass everywhere! W-what happened?”

“The door was hacked, they came in.”

“Who? The Autobots?”

“No you idiot!” Gears couldn't help rolling his eyes. He did repress the urge to inform Scavenger that he would be happy (and gone!) if the intruders were the Autobots. “Swindle and--”

“Swindle!” Scavenger's visor glowed bright red with anger. He moved away, obvious intent in his eyes to find the snivelling dealer. Gears's functioning arm reached out and grab hold of him. He didn't have enough strength to pull the Decepticon near, but his movement was enough stall the other.

“Listen! You have to get me out of here. Soundwave's going to be informed! He might want another search done. It's dangerous for me to stay here.” Gears hoped that his pleading would convince Scavenger. Slowly, the angry glow dissipated and Scavenger nodded.

“You're right. I have to get you out of here. I even found a safe place. Not too far. And safe!”

“Okay. Good. We have to leave now!” Again, Scavenger eagerly nodded. He stood up and started rummaging through his stuff.

“I, I think I have a box large enough... You'll be quiet right..? You won't yell?”

“I'll make sure to stay mute.”

Scavenger was quick to amass the necessary materials. His crate was indeed large enough to hide his paralysed minibot. He crammed to bottom with several of his remaining soft materials. When he picked up Gears, he took the opportunity to hug him and caress his helm. Soothingly, he said: “Everything is going to be okay. It'll be a great place. And and prettier. You'll love it.”

“Stop wasting time. Just get me out.”

Scavenger leaned his forehead against his lover and safety lowered him into the crate. “I have to cover you up a bit...In case someone checks.”

Gears rolled his optics. “I get it! Just hurry!”

“Okay!” The Construction carefully arranged some objects on top of the minibot, and nailed the lid shut. He gave a sorrowful look at his destroyed collection. Only a few pieces were left intact. He would have to take care of them. Later. Right now, he needed to carry his most important possession out of the base.

\- - - -

TBC


	9. Part Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Scavenger found a half-dead minibot (Gears) and decided to adopted him as his pet. Moving time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing/Characters: Scavenger/Gears, Constructicons,  
> Warning: Non-Con, disabled partner, captivity, pet  
> Author's Note: The awesome eerian_sadow is still with me! Please give your love and thanks to her for helping me!!

After making sure that the box that contained his lover was shut tight, Scavenger skittered through the hallways. He took detours to avoid fellow Decepticons and on two occasions he leaped into a storage closet. As promised, Gears kept silent. Internally, however, he seethed as he was shifted from one direction to another.

Finally, after what seemed for an eternity, Scavenger reached the base's exit elevator. He convinced himself that he was safe, but the moment he pressed the control button, someone sneaked up on him.

“H-Hey Scavenger. What's with the box?” Mixmaster asked. Long Haul stood next to the chemist, his arms crossed over his chassis.

“Box? What box?”

“The one you're holding, you idiot.” Scolded Long Haul. He strongly whacked the side of the wooded crate to for good measure. “The one that you've been prancing around with the past 10 breems.”

“Oh! Yes, that! Ha, hum. It's just some.. junk?” The power-shovel answered nervously. Had they been following him?! He sent some glances towards the lift's door, and hoped that it would arrive soon, allowing him to escape this interrogation. His answer caused his brothers to snort in derision

“Since when do you consider anything junk?” Long Haul asked.

“When things are broken!” Scavenger replied hastily. His tone was getting coloured with desperation and anger. “Leave me alone now!” Of course, asking them to stop bothering him just encouraged them to continue.

“Oh-ho! You broke some of your toys?" Long Haul inquired with fake concern dripping from his voice. "You don't seem sad!”

“Y-yes! Y-you're not a s-snivelling pile of sap!” Added Mixmaster.

“I am sad!” He huffed. “I said leave me alone!” He turned his back on them. He hoped that such action would tell them that he really wanted for the conversation to stop and be left alone.

Mixmaster and Long Haul exchanged devious grins and entered into Scavenger's personal space. They trailed their servos over the box, making Scavenger wish he could back away and return in his sanctuary. However, his brothers blocked his escape by crowding him.

“You know what I think?” Started Long Haul. “I think you just want to take some of your collection elsewhere.”

“Y-yes, S-scavenger has filled his room with all his treasure. Now, he f-finds another hiding place for the rest.” Continued the chemist.

“I, well, maybe... It's a small room...?” Scavenger said. He had to get those two off his case! If they wanted to believed that the box was filled with his regular possessions instead of his precious Autobot lover, then so be it. If he agreed with them and got them to believe their own stories they would leave him alone, wouldn't they?

“Small room?!” Long Haul cried in disbelief. “It's the biggest cargo room we got on board.” Indeed, what Long Haul said was true. "You know how much heat Scrapper got for getting that place for you?" Having been fed up with all the items cluttering the Constructicon Common Room, Scrapper had requested more space form Megatron. The request came with its shares of problems, but finally Megatron agreed to reward the leader of the Constructicon with the Cargo Room 5. In turn, Scrapper had given it to Scavenger with the promised to not leave any of his collection in the common room or anywhere else for that matter.

 

“Well.. It's still too small...”

“You know Scrapper's gonna flip knowing you need more space.”

“I-If he is to discover, o-off course.” Mixmaster said with a deceptive smile.

“Please, don't tell him!” Pleaded Scavenger. “What do you want in return?”

His brothers shared a look, then gave him a synchronized shrug. “Don't know yet," said Long Haul. "We'll tell you when we want the favour repaid.” His brothers appeared satisfied with the boon they just gained and stepped away.

It is at that moment that the long awaited lift finally deigned to show up. He shifted the crate and hoped that his small lover wasn't too uncomfortable inside. Quickly he stepped on board and gave a sigh of relief at being able to escape his brothers.

“Oh! Scavenger!” Called out Long Haul as the lift started to go up. “Don't forget to come back in time for the battle. Devastator is a must to win!”

The power-shovel was too far up to reply, but made careful note of the comment. The stress of finding his room is disarray and the possibility of losing his lover made the upcoming battle slip his mind. It was kind of ironic considering it was the same battle that got him worked up on the potential loss of his minibot. It started earlier with Starscream requiring him to gather specific elements to create an explosive copy of the Autobot Gears... Of his lover, actually.

'Gears...'The name felt strange when Scavenger though about it. He had trouble associating it with his lover. He'd get used to it, he imaged. Anyway, once the explosive decoy was in place, they would let the Autobots get near. And when the timing would be just right it would detonate. The shocked Autobots would not have enough time to recuperate before Devastator emerged underneath them. Devastator would keep the fighters busy while another group would secure the ransom energon.

Scavenger replayed the information about the battle-plan. He wondered why they couldn't just send the clone in without the explosives. The Autobots would be happy and would avoid searching for ...Gears. Then, he wouldn't have to worry about his lover returning home to his friends anymore. As he continued to muse about that, a knock shook his thoughts away. It took him a moment to realize it came from inside the box he carried.

“We're almost there,” he answered his impatient lover. “Just a few more klicks, dear”. The knocks didn't resume. He half-wished for the minibot to confirm that he was all right in there. But, he'd have to wait until he reached his new hide-out to check on ... Gears.

After several more minutes of travel, Scavenger arrived at the desired location. It was in a deserted area and in front of him stood an immense hollow rock. The insides hid an old base they built, but haven't used in many months. Before, the camouflaged doorways would open to any approaching Decepticon signature. Now, however, the detector, security alarm and most of the valuable equipment was removed and transported to another base. For that reason, the entrance needed to be pried open manually and forced closed once inside. The Constructicon wasted no time in entering and looking over his new secret sanctuary.

Wires, cogs, a few loose screws, mounds of dirt, cobwebs, a beaten up monitor and an out-dated console were the base’s current decorations. The place felt lifeless. But, Scavenger decided that it would just be the perfect opportunity to build a charming habitation for the two of them. And, he could bring his intact favourite collection pieces to create a fabulous interior design. All in all, the move was a good thing.

After briefly scanning the abandoned base, he opened the crate and carefully lifted his lover out of there. “So, what do you think?” Scavenger asked while slowly rotating to show the whole room.

“It's a dump,” replied the minibot, dryly. He hardly looked at the place.

“Well, of course right now it's not much to look at. There's nothing. But, give me some time to fix the place up. I'll throw a few rugs around, get rid of that console, bring in your TV--”

“Console?” Gears stretched his head trying to see what the Decepticon was talking about. Scavenger turned around, allowing Gears to gaze on the large monitor and dusty console underneath. “Where are we anyway?”

“It's just an old base. No one comes around here anymore. So, I can keep it.”

“Does that thing still works?”

Scavenger looked at it, and shrugged. “I don't know... Probably not.”

“Carry me over there.”

“Now?” Asked Scavenger incredulously. He didn't have time to waste, but at the same time he couldn't deny his lover's request.“Okay, if it'll make you happy.”

The Constructicon lumbered over there and allowed Gears to check the material. Often, Gears motioned to his captor to lower him, or open a panel so he could check the insides. The dim glow from Gears' optics allowed him to do a quick inventory. Dust was found in abundance and most components were speckled with rust. For an instant, he even thought he spotted a Scraplet. Luckily, it was just a broken lightbulb.

“Pit, there's a lot of missing components. But I think I can work it out...” muttered Gears as he dug inside with his working arm.

“Did you say something?”

“I said: Pull me out.” The minibot swiftly lied. Scavenger obeyed, and then laid Gears down on the ground, using console to prop Gears in a sitting position. He went back to the crate and started removing the materials. As he did so, he started a conversation with his distracted lover.

“So, hum, you wanted to keep the console..?”

“Slag yeah. And don't I see you trying to get rid of it, you hear?” It would be necessary for Gears to use parts of it to repair himself. And if he was lucky, which was never, he might be able to build some sort of communicator.

“Oh, I won't. I'm glad you like it.” Scavenger said as he kept pulling out objects from inside the crate. Most of the things were soft and malleable to make the trip easier on his Gears. He knelt next to his red mini-bot and laid on the ground what he collected. He wasted no time building a comfortable nest to lay in. He wouldn't have enough for a large bed, but on his next hunt he'd make sure to gather something more dignified. For now, it would serve its purpose. As he built, he was bothered by the silence and struck up another conversation.

“So, huh, Gears... That's a rather.. Hum.. Common designation.”

“You know a lot of 'Gears'?”

“N-no. Not common in the sense of popular. Haven't you ever thought of changing it?”

“What's wrong with it?!” Gears flared up.

“Nothing! Nothing, dear. I was just thinking that something might suit you better?” It felt strange associating such an ordinary name to his temperamental lover. “How about Spitfire?”

“What! No! I'm not changing my designation! You're not changing my designation!”

“Okay, okay!” Scavenger held up his servos in surrender. “How about adding to it then? Goldengears? Top Gear? Gears-plex?”

“You're going to shut up now,” threatened Gears in a low voice. If he could, he would have brought the Decepticon close and glared deeply into the red visor. “You are going to stop trying to change what defines me. Then, we're going to stop having this conversation. And, you will never bring it up again.”

“I-I, okay.. I was just making for some small talk.. We don't talk anymore..”

“Frag! Not this again!”

“Oh, no, I'm not starting that again. I swear. I was just mentioning...” Scavenger's voice went meek. “I have to go back to work soon. It's a big job this time, y'know. I just wanted something nice to remember when I left...”

“Tch, don't look at me then!”

“Oh, but I like looking at you! You feel my spark with such joy!”

“When they built you, how many screws did they lose?” Scavenger tried to recall and his memories came up blank. “Ergh! Never mind! Just finish making... the berth.” Gears noticed that the main materials were brightly coloured stuffed toys. “And tell me about your next job if you want to talk.”

Scavenger nodded in relief by the order bustled into work. “Well, it's going to be a battle.”

“Ah, a battle. And of course, you don't know the details.”

“Actually,” started Scavenger before he cut himself off. For once he was well-informed considering his knowledge of the decoy and the key role Devastator would play. Part of him really wanted to share with his lover that he was important enough to be privilege to confidential information. But another part of him realized that Gears might be highly offended knowing he was going to partake in a battle where his double would be use as bait for his friends. Then blown up...

“Actually, what?”

“Nothing, you're right! I don't know anything, ha-ha.” Gears gave him a sceptical look. Clearly the Decepticon's lie was thin.

“Huh-uh. You kno--”

“Hey look!” interrupted Scavenger. “Finished!” He pointed the lumpy bedding. “What do you think?”

“I preferred the other one, before you burned it down.”

“That was an accident!”

“My back-joints are going to be misaligned lying on that.”

“It's temporary, just for tonight.”

“Make a better one, instead.”

“I can't. I have to go now. I shouldn't be late.” Scavenger answered regrettably. He picked up the small bot and laid him on the bed. Scavenger knew he had to leave immediately. If he didn't, he'd face the consequences of Scrapper's wrath. He did sacrifice a few seconds to lean his forehead against his lover's.

As Scavenger backed away, Gears grabbed hold of his captor's chest pipes. The minibot had no strength to keep the other there, but his action was enough to immobilize Scavenger.

“Honey,” started Scavenger with a nervous laugh. He found the clingy act adorable, but the timing was horrible. “I really have to go. I need to be there. The others need me there today.” The way the Constructicon stressed his need to leave convinced Gears that Devastator would be part of the fight. And, it would seem that the giant mech would be used intelligently instead of a last resort. Gears couldn't in good conscious allow the Gestalt to threaten his friend if he could do something to stop it.

“Stay,” ordered Gears, his mind made up.

“I can't.” Scavenger laid his servos on Gears' and gently tried to disengage them from his pipes.

“Yes you can.” Gears replied. He went straight to the point to convince Scavenger. “I want you. Now.”

“Wha..? B-but I have to leave!” Was he imagining it? Did his lover really want to be intimate now? “I'll be back soon. Then we can, you know...Make love.” He explained shyly. “I'd be glad to... But, you have to understand, I have to go now.” The Decepticon sounded desperate, torn between duty and desire.

“But I want you now. Not later. I won't want to 'face later.” Gears felt disgusted, as he pulsed his energy field toward the bigger mech looming over him. It was weak and forced, however Scavenger's response was immediate. His own field joined Gears, crackles of electricity forming around him. He lowered his head and nuzzle the other neck.

“I, I need to go! Please don't make me stay... They'll be mad.” Even though Scavenger was trying to convince Gears, he kept caressing his lover's body. It was obvious to Gears that the Decepticon wouldn't be able to resist. The Autobot just needed to keep encouraging the desperate mech to interface and he could save his friends from facing Devastator. It would be a simple sacrifice. He would feel disgusted for many vorns to come, but at least he wouldn't hate himself by failing to protect his fellow Autobots. If he believed the rumours that flew around the Ark, he wouldn't be the first one to interface with a Decepticon to save a few lives.

With that in mind, Gears sent the command to open his spark chamber. He wished that it would finish quickly, but he knew he had to draw out the action. The more time Scavenger spent with him meant the less time he'd be on the battlefield.

Scavenger servos trembled at the sight of his lover opening under him. His pleas to postpone their intimacy died in his vocaliser. He haven't seen his lover's spark in a long time; long enough that he had forgotten the bright blue-white swirls. It was mesmerizing beautiful, especially with it spinning wantonly. Scavenger was hypnotized and was unable to tear his gaze away. His servos trembled as they drew closer to the tantalizing light show Gears was performing. He gently traced the edge of the chamber.

A small gasp left Gears.

“Sorry,” said Scavenger. He lifted his servos off of his lover's frame as if he had touched a red-hot metal. “Was that okay? Did you like that?”

Gears wanted to tell his captor to get the frag out of his face. To take his servos and shove them as far up his aft! But he vented deeply and counted to ten before replying through gritted teeth that the sensation had been pleasurable. Scavenger seemed very satisfied, and stroked the edge a second time. Gears emitted the same sound. He couldn't stand the touch, even if it felt very nice. His spark reacted on its own and grew hotter and brighter every time Scavenger's digits caressed the sensitive edges.

Sometimes when the edges created static on Scavenger's servo, he passed over his lover's spark. Small arcs jumped from the digits to the luminescent sphere. When it occurred, Gears couldn't prevent himself from gasping. After the fourth electric arc, Scavenger removed his mouth piece and traced the chamber's edges with his glossa. The moist oral fluid left behind acted as a conduit and sizzled when the electricity came near.

“Primus,” murmured the minibot. He was surprised by his treacherous body's reaction. He blamed his reaction to some crossed-wires and not to Scavenger's loving attentiveness. He couldn't remember having been with someone that gave him similar pleasure. Had his paralysed body allowed him to thrash around, he would. Instead, his functional hand found and squeezed the green plating.

Scavenger took it as a hint and brought his face to Gears and initiated a kiss. The minibot surrendered, but didn't return the passion. It didn't matter to the Decepticon. He was deep in the moment and retracted his own central plating. He pushed the smaller bots legs apart and bent his lanky body and slowly closed the distance between the two sparks.

Tendrils from both sides reached toward each other and mingled. As Scavenger descended, their sparks expanded and synchronized. Pulse after pulse ran through Gears as Scavenger pumped more energy.

“Ah!” Cried out the minibot. He bit his bottom lip to avoid making another pathetic mew. Scavenger relinquished the mouth and nuzzled, licked and bit the soft neck-cables. The neck-cables were usually well hidden by his helm, but his head was thrown back in ecstasy and allowed for easy access. Gears tried to ignore the pleasurable sensations, but it was getting harder and harder as their sparks started to become asynchronous. Each sent powerful waves trying return to a normal cadence.

Finally, Gears spark couldn't maintain the pace and released all the pent-up energy. Scavenger siphoned the charge and doubled the power back to Gears. The minibot's overload came hard and fast and the backlash pushed Scavenger over the edge.

The intense light that was created faded to a cool glow. Their vents created a soothing whirl, condescension formed on their frames and they both powered down. Before falling into an interface induced slumber, Gears proudly acknowledge the success of his self-imposed mission. Devastator wouldn't be part of the fight; his friends were safe.

\- - - -  
TBC 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art: http://pics.livejournal.com/anon_feather/pic/0000ya12
> 
> Gears asking Scavenger to stay.


	10. Part 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Scavenger found a half-dead minibot (Gears) and decided to adopt him as his pet. In this chapter: the aftermath of Gears' plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Non-Con, disabled partner, captivity, violent punishment,  
> Author'sNote: Sorry for the wait. Here's the next part. Many thanks to eerian_sadow and yavieriel for the beta-ing of this part. Enjoy my dears!

Scavenger came out of recharge with his spark humming pleasantly. When he and Gears had fallen into recharge after their passionate lovemaking session, they left their spark chambers open. Their sparks had synchronised their pulses through the hours spent cuddling. It was a soothing feeling, and it was lulling Scavenger back into recharge.

However, his lover had woken up and was wiggling from his grasp. The spark synchronisation stopped as Gears started to stress while trying to extricate himself from the Scavenger's embrace.

"What's wrong, dear?" asked Scavenger, concerned.

"Let go! Go away!" Gears tried in vain to push Scavenger off the makeshift berth.

Scavenger frowned, upset by the way Gears was acting. The night before, everything had been perfect. They had managed to fix their relationship. Now it seemed they were back to square one! Then, sudden realisation hit him. "Oh, Primus! The battle! You're right, I have to go!" The Constructicon sprang to his feet, and almost tripped over himself in his rush. "Pit!" He cried out as he consulted his chronometer. "They're going to kill me!"

It didn't take long before Gears was alone in the abandoned base. His spark wound down as he crushed the memories of the previous night. He was disgusted that he had allowed a Decepticon to touch him so intimately, but most of his disgust came from having played with the fool's delusion. He couldn't stop feeling some lingering guilt, even if what he had done was for a good cause. He pushed the unpleasant feeling to the back of his mind. It wasn't time to break down. He needed to focus on a new task: a way to escape, either by fixing himself or by creating a communicator.

He mustered his strength and pulled himself to a sitting position, his back leaning on the broken console. Then, he tore off a button eye from one of the plush teddy bears that padded the makeshift berth. With the little round eye, he pried open the plating of his useless left arm. He wasn't a medic, but if he corrected some mismatched wires or removed pebbles, his diagnostic program could reactivate, allowing his healing nanites to resume their primary function. Currently, they couldn't progress any further because they couldn't detect the faulty areas.

The arm seemed to have the right components in place, but the connections were lacking. He pulled some wires around, and when his diagnostic system pinged, stating that he needed repairs, he authorised the demand. While the nanites busied themselves in his arm, he checked his legs. He grumbled, noticing that he couldn't do anything. Half the circuits were missing, the other half were crushed. Besides, even if the nanites could detect the damage, he didn't have enough energy to do a complete self-repair.

After all, Gears didn't know when his next feeding would occur. He thanked Primus for not being one of the odd organics that populated the planet Earth. He couldn't understand why they needed to refuel even if the only thing they did was stay motionless in front of a television watching a boring sports program. At least the vehicles they created followed the Cybertronian logic; no movement, no wasted energy. An underfueled Cybertronian simply went into stasis lock if they lacked energy. If they were economical with their movements, their energy could be stretched out for quite a long period.

Gears figured he might roughly have three orns - little more than an earth month - before involuntary stasis lock occurred. If he didn't manage to reach his friends, he might stay as Scavenger's play doll until the end of time. Needless to say, he had no intention of that happening.

Quickly, he inventoried the pieces that surrounded him as the nanites worked on his left arm. When feeling started to return to the limb, he managed to drag himself to the console and tear an opening that would allow him to pull out some components. He figured now was the best time to do this. After all, he would have a day, maybe even two, before Scavenger returned from the battlefield. This was his longest time he had been allowed to spend unsupervised and with a relative amount of mobility.

Besides, it wasn't like he could do anything else constructive. Scavenger had reclaimed the workpad before they moved. He promised to return it when they were settled down in their new home, but the situation that occurred after their arrival made Gears forget to demand it back.

After a thorough search inside the console, useful components were piled around Gears. Suddenly a creaking sound resonated through the base. He stilled, and then hurriedly hid all the materials he had gathered. Scavenger's return was unexpectedly quick!

Or so he thought. Once his spark calmed down, he realised that the noise was normal; the base was settling for the night. He pulled the material out and before resuming the sorting, he organised a secret hole where he could quickly drop everything inside. He finished just in time, because as he finished he heard something. Scavenger was back, this time for real!

Well, the sound was real, but not the return of Scavenger.  _He can't be back yet_ , Gears reminded himself.  _He's probably licking his wounds after the guys kicked their Decepticon afts._

For a third time, Gears dragged the materials out in front of him and sorted them. He tried to recall some plans for emergency communication devices that each member of the Autobot army was required to download. He knew he had them somewhere, but he'd stashed them away in the back of his processor. Gears grumbled impatiently as it took three tries for his internal search engine to find the program, and he made a mental note to get Ratchet to install an update patch.

However, before he could open the blueprints, he felt a cold draft of air across his faceplate. Without a second though, he pushed everything into the hideout hole. The idiot was back!

Gears waited to hear the shuffling footsteps. For a moment he thought of calling out. But then he realised he was being paranoid and imagined the other coming back. It wasn't his fault.  _The fight ended groons ago. Everyone's had enough time to see a medic! Granted, Hook's not a proper medic... There's probably a line or something. Or maybe the idiot isn't such a moron. He could just be laying low before coming back,_  thought the minibot. He accepted his theory and motivated himself to continue his work while he still had the opportunity. He found himself foolish for worrying so much about his captor, when really he should be glad to be alone!

Still, he had a bad feeling that Scavenger would arrive soon. In fact, he was probably on his way now. It would serve no purpose to have resumed work if the idiot barged in. All his sorting would be in vain because he would throw everything back inside the secret hole. With that in mind, Gears laid down on the makeshift berth. When he would wake up, Scavenger would be at his side with a doting look.

* * *

Startled awake, Gears sat up and looked around wildly. "I'm awake. Stop stalking me in the dark!"

Only silence replied. "Oh... You're not there. I'm just jumpy y'know. And I'm talking to myself." Gears sighed. In relief, he told himself. He took a moment to look at himself and happily noticed that sitting up hadn't been hard. Gazing around the dark room, he made sure that he was indeed alone. He thought about working on the communication device, but he knew that his rotten luck would summon Scavenger the moment he started. Best to get as much recharge as possible first. He laid back down and, after tossing and turning multiple times, managed to slip into recharge.

Slowly, Gears pulled himself out of a comfortable recharge, feeling like he had slept for several days. Reflexively, he patted the berth around him, trying to find where the idiot was lurking. He should be around, curled up behind him. Strangely, he didn't find the purple and green mech anywhere near. He even called out, but silence was his only companion.

Gears was  _not_  getting worried. It wasn't necessary for him to know  _exactly_  where his captor was at all times. He glared at the empty space for a few seconds and then pulled out the materials for the communicator. If Scavenger was around, he could ask him to sort all the crap into neat little piles or find the missing parts. That's the  _only_  reason why he'd want the other's presence. And maybe for an energon cube.

Gears grudgingly admitted that the inane conversation would be entertaining.

Frustrated that part of him was actually missing the idiot, the minibot smacked some sense into his processor by whacking his forehead with the flat of his servo. "Okay, stop it, stop it. Work," he grunted, and focused his energy on picking out the necessities for the communicator. It didn't take long for him to become utterly bored with the task. What he wouldn't give to regain complete mobility and roll out of here.  _If only..._

Suddenly, a brilliant idea hit Gears. "Why didn't I try it before!"

The minibot quickly engaged his transformation sequence.

"Arrgh!" Gears cried out in pain immediately when the code was sent. Something that should fold over wasn't and what should stay straight was being bent. Gears cancelled the transformation attempt and slumped weakly on the berth as he passed out from the pain.

Untold hours later, he came back to himself. He was sore all over and refused to move an inch. He half-expected for Scavenger to coddled him and tell him he'd take care of him. Gears mustered some energy to look around, but no sappy captor was in sight. How long was he knocked out?

"That was of no help at all," he grunted to himself. The only thing his foolish attempt did, he noticed, was to online his pain receptors. "And of course, I can't turn them off again."

He decided to lay there until Scavenger returned. The fool was used to moving him around after all. So, Gears waited. And waited. And he waited until he got upset and cursed the absent mech. Finally, after damning the fool to the pit and the smelter, most of the pain had receded to a stinging ache. It was sufficient to allow him to doze off, hoping he'd become numb to the pain by the time he woke.

When he awoke he refused to acknowledge that he was disappointed at being alone again. He gritted his teeth and pulled himself up to resume his work on the communicator. If he moved slowly enough, the pain sensors only sent needle stings along his legs.

"Huh, what's this?" Gears picked up one of the toys that made the berth. It was a fluffy white ball and ticked. After investigation, he discovered it to be a novelty clock. He was tempted to open it to steal the wires, but decided against it. He had everything except two resistors, a circuit board, a microphone and a LED. A time-piece would come in handy. Now he could count the hours he had left and the amount of time Scavenger had been gone.

"Why do I even care? The longer he's gone the safer I am." He muttered. "If I can get out of this pit-damned place without seeing him again, then that's the best I can hope for. It's not my fault if Megatron slagged him... It's not like I had much of a choice..."

Gears kept reasoning to alleviate his guilt. "C'mon. He kidnapped me. Kept me locked up, underfueled and..." Gears didn't want to mention out loud what else. If he didn't say it, he could ignore it. "He's a delusional fool. He doesn't know what the frag he's doing..."

He rubbed his forehead, banishing the thoughts that kept creeping back in. Softly, he added, "Primus, let the idiot be alright."

It was well-known by Gears that Primus had a wicked sense of humour and loved to torment him. Just as he uttered the prayer, the base was brightly lit for an instant as the entry boulder was removed. Gears had to reboot his optics to let them adjust back to the darkness but even if he couldn't see him right away, the shuffling sounds were a telltale sign that his captor was back.

"Finally! What took you so long!" exclaimed Gears. Scavenger didn't respond, but he drew closer at a lumbering speed. As the Constructicon approached, Gears remembered the communication device and hastily hid it in its special place. He wanted to tell Scavenger to disregard whatever he moved, but the other's appearance stunned him to silence. "Slag, what in the seven pits happened?"

Scavenger was standing downcast in front of him. His frame was dented and scratched, and dried, crusted energon seeped from numerous wounds. One arm was hanging from nothing but wires, and sparks flew when he shifted his weight on a burnt pede. His ever-present visor was broken by a sharp shard jammed into an optic. The only thing that could be considered intact was his shovel tail: it had been removed.

Scavenger stared down at Gears and trembled, then began sobbing, before he collapsed and grabbed hold of his lover. Gears gasped in pain, but it was drowned out by Scavenger's keening. The Decepticon rocked the minibot, feverishly mumbling: "You're okay, you're okay."

"Shsss, calm down, calm down." Gears tried to sooth the beaten mech, but his words didn't reach to Scavenger. The rocking didn't stop, and desperate servos caressed every inch that could be held. "Okay, that's enough. Let go. Let go!" Gears tried to pushed the other away, or wriggle out of his grasp, but to no avail. He glared towards Primus and let himself be used as a comforter.

When the wailing slowed, Gears spoke again. "There, there. It's okay. I'm okay. Guess you got, huh, punished for missing the battle..." A pang of guilt went through Gears as Scavenger nodded. "Yeah... Well, how about we fix you up, huh? If we don't get that glass out, it'll fuse and you won't be able to get a replacement optic."

Again, Scavenger mutely nodded and freed Gears. Unsure of how to proceed, the minibot motioned for Scavenger to come forward. "Tell me if it hurts."  _I don't really know what I'm doing,_  he wanted to add. Instead he bit down on his lower lip to avoid worrying the other. Scavenger was waiting, complete trust radiating from him. This was a unique opportunity to take advantage of his captor, but, his nagging conscience didn't allow him to take any revenge upon the poor beaten mech. Instead, he carefully removed all of the broken glass, wincing in compassion as he pulled out the shard.

"So," Gears started again to cover the uncomfortable silence and to placate his guilt. He found a soft cloth in the makeshift berth and started removing the dried energon. "Megatron was mad, huh?"

Scavenger slowly nodded. "Yes," he murmured quietly. "He punished me... He hit me until he calmed down..."

"Yeah, Megatron's a complete slagger." Gears took out a wire he had kept for his communication device and used it to replace the broken one that kept sparking.

Scavenger emitted a murmur of agreement. "And..., "he started again to shake. Static filled his voice as he continued. "And then it was Scrapper's turn. He, he felt I hadn't learned my lesson from the beating." Scavenger sobbed loudly, and Gears patted him softly on the shoulder. Megatron was a brute, controlled by anger. However one of the wounds that were on Scavenger's frame didn't fit in with the others. It was too clean.

"So he removed your tail?" Gears asked. Not surprisingly, Scavenger answered with a silent nod, followed by a sob.

"He, he told Hook to take it off and not fix anything while I was on the table. He said that I'll be a better worker without it. That I'll stop finding u-useless s-crap."

Gears, at a loss, tried his best to console him. "C'mon, don't worry. It looks like it was well removed... He can put it back if you... work harder? Besides, you don't even have any more space in your junkyar-, I mean treasure room to add new stuff. Just keep rediscovering what you already own." His soft words didn't have the expected results. A high-pitch keen left Scavenger and he curled into a ball as he remembered his punishment.

"Everything's gone. Nothing. I don't have anything left. He made me go down to my room. And, and he placed a blaster in my servos. I didn't want to pull the trigger. But he made me do it. There's nothing left. I couldn't leave, couldn't sleep, couldn't refuel until I destroyed everything. It's all gone, all gone, all gone. I destroyed everything."

It had taken days for him to destroy everything. He had tried to subspace his favourite pieces, but he was under constant supervision. When it wasn't Scrapper, it was Bonecrusher. Scrapper was professional, but impatient, and never allowed Scavenger time to grieve. Bonecrusher, on the other hand, let his brother say goodbye before tearing the objects apart with wicked glee. When the punished mech couldn't take it anymore, Bonecrusher had the authorisation to use any force, short of being lethal, to make Scavenger comply.

A cold shudder ran down Gears back and it wasn't his back coils acting up. The Decepticon had put such sentimental value in his collection that he felt uncomfortable learning its destruction. There were actually some really nice pieces in there, Gears recalled. He couldn't do anything else but rub Scavenger's back soothingly.

"You still have some stuff here," Gears said motioning the surrounding toys that made up the bed. Immediately, the sobbing stopped and Scavenger gave Gears the most euphoric look a one opticked-mech could ever give. Quickly he realised his mistake. "I didn't mean  _me!_  "

Of course, Scavenger brushed off the last comment. "You're right! I still have you by my side. You're the only thing that could ever matter! Scrapper won't ever find you. We'll stay together forever! I won't ever leave your side."

"You have to leave eventually. Y'know, for energon?" Gears reminded him with a nervous tone.

"No! Never. I won't ever leave. We'll stay here, always. We'll twine our frames until our sparks rejoin the Matrix."

"Oh no! No! There's no way. I never agreed to that!"

"It's the only way, honey. Can't you see?"

Scavenger was decided and held Gears close, chest to chest. Their sparks pounded loudly, one in exaltation and the other in fear.

"No! It's stupid." declared Gears. Scavenger was ready to hush his lover's fears away, but Gears interrupted him with a panicked plea. "I mean. It won't work. The others, y'know, the Decepticons or the Constructicons  _are_  going to find you for the next fight. And they'll find you,  _us_ , before we drop from lack of fuel. And I'll be in their hands; at their mercy. I thought you found it dangerous if I was with them."

"Yeah..." Scavenger thought about it, and then he gave a resolute nod. "Okay... I'll have to extinguish us now."

"Oh sure, destroy the last remaining piece of your collection!" Gears didn't mind referring to himself as an object if it meant staying alive. "Do that, and Scrapper wins!"

"I..." Scavenger tried to find a counterargument, but he came up empty. "I... You're right. I can't..." Defeated, the Constructicon released his desperate grip on Gears. The latter let out a vent of relief. "I don't know what we can do..."

"Look, let's just... Sleep on it. Go back to base, bring some energon." After a beat, he added: "Oh, and two resistors, a copper wire, a microphone and a LED, 'kay?"

"Okay...Can't I sleep here?" He asked pitifully.

"No. You've already been out for too long. They'll start to wonder where you've been."

"Oh... "His lover was right. He was lucky so far; Long Haul and Mixmaster never told their boss that they saw him carry some of his collection elsewhere. Scavenger extracted himself from the berth. He lovingly looked down on the other. "You're right...Do you needed anything else?"

"Leave your workpad?"

"Sure." Scavenger complied, no sooner said than done. He looked as emotionally beaten as he was physically. Scavenger loomed above him, waiting for a warm goodbye. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Yeah. 'Kay." The nagging guilt Gears felt returned. He tried to squelch it down. He was going to get some spark burns from all the stress. "Be careful?"

"I will!" Scavenger chirped. Had his frame been completely intact, Gears thought the other might have skipped out of the base. When Scavenger was gone, Gears released a large sigh of relief. He felt drained from having to deal with the delusional mech. He let himself melt back to the berth to collect his wits.

"Okay Gears," he pumped, "get back to work. Gotta finish the frame. When he comes back, you won't have a lot of time before he discovers what you're doing!" Sitting back up, Gears resumed work after carefully tucking the workpad in his subspace. "You're almost home... One last hurdle in your way."


	11. Part Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Scavenger found a half-dead minibot (Gears) and decided to adopted him as his pet. Rescue? Ha!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating: Teen (M overall)  
> Warning: Non-Con, disabled partner, captivity, breaking down  
> Author's Note: Hum.... Nothing to say. The story is coming to an end. Many thanks to eerian_sadowfor beta-ing and helping me with my verb tenses. Complete prompt: http://tfanonkink.livejournal.com/3587.html?thread=4991491#t4991491

  
"Oh, this? Of course it isn't an emergency communicator. It's, huh, a sculpture." Gears said. He was tinkering on the device that was essential to his escape. He was rehearsing the lie to tell Scavenger when he would return. 

"It, huh, represents... Cybertron's glory of... building... stuff to ...contact-- Argh! Blast it!" He swore. His lie was pathetic. He knew Scavenger was naive enough to gobble anything he came up with, but he needed to be convincing. The device was too big to hide inside the hole, unless Gears wanted to break it. Covering it up with a sheet made it just more conspicuous. He didn't want to lose his last hope of escaping. The other day, he managed to convince Scavenger not to extinguish their sparks as a desperate and insane attempt to keep them 'together'. But he didn't know how long it would last. Something else could happen that would make the Constructicon think about the ultimate solution and he'd be doomed. 

"Okay, okay, let's start over. I wanted to make some decorations. This place is so barren. You haven't brought in anything interesting lately. Ah scrap." Gears remembered that he couldn't bring up that subject up. Scrapper destroyed all of Scavenger's precious possessions. One mention of a finding something would push him into another depressed cycle. Who knew what could trigger in the fool's deranged mind. 

Gears remembered his sojourn spent on board of the Nemesis with an overbearing, but happy Decepticon. Those were better days, he thought almost with fondness. Then, he felt sick with the thought. 

"Maybe I should just yell at him," Gears mused. "Just like: shut the scrap up! Always nagging about anything I do! Ha, yeah... He'd shrivel up and cry." It felt strange how he could anticipate his captor's actions. Although yelling was probably the best method, his spark twisted with guilt at the thought of voluntarily making Scavenger cry. 

Gears continued tinkering with the device; it was almost finished. If Scavenger returned with the missing components, he would only need to click them in and voilà! It'd immediately connect with Teletran. Blaster - if he wasn't listening to his deafening music - would receive the signal. The signal should be enough for the Autobots to trace it and rescue him. Or so he hoped. Mirage or Jazz never had to go through so much trouble when they got captured. Rescue parties were planned in advance for them, lucky sons of glitches. 

"So, huh, honey," Gears rehearsed again, feeling awkward with the use of a pet name. Feeding Scavenger's delusional desire that they were a loving couple was bound to put him in a happy mood. "How was your day? Mine was calm. Had time to catch up on my engineering skills. Gonna make Huffer jealous." 

"Oh, who's Huffer?" 

"Bah, a friend. He's so smug sometimes. He goes on and say stuff like: 'I didn't even want to build this, but I still made the revolutionary thingamabob'. He-- Wait, when did you come back?!" Gears panicked. 

"A few moments ago." 

"Why didn't I notice?!" 

Scavenger shrugged. "I thought you did. You asked me how my day was. It wasn't that great by the way. But Scrapper told me to stop moping around the ship." Scavenger flopped down on the makeshift berth and snuggled up to his lover. Gears gritted his denta together when the Decepticon invaded his personal space, but he decided not to pick a fight about it. Scavenger gave his minibot a heartfelt hug before removing from his subspace diverse items and holding them up to Gears' optics. 

"Here, I found what you wanted. Not broken this time." He learned from the TV incident. Gears rebooted his optics and stared incredulously at the offered items. Was this real? Yes, they seemed to be all the right components needed for the communication device... Could this horrible ordeal be over soon? 

"Thanks. That was... quick."  _'Quick, that's right'._ Gears tried to appear nonchalant as he connected the components to the right locations. His nervousness was pushed down, making sure that he didn't tremble. 

"Yeah..." Scavenger had a wistful look as he watched Gears work. The minibot felt self-conscious by the way his captor was looking at him. He should stop, in-case Scavenger figured out his plan, but the desire to escape was pushing him on. 

"Y'know," said Scavenger as he nuzzled Gears' shoulder, "I do know why you wanted me to get those, right?" 

"W-what?! You do? I mean, what are you talking about?" Gears stiffened, readying for a fight. He tried to block the communication device, but Scavenger picked it up. "Give that back, you worthless scrapheap!" 

Scavenger immobilised. "Sorry... I just wanted to have a better look at it. I understand. I don't like when someone checks my unfinished work. Hook always does, clicking his glossa along the way. Very annoying." He replaced the device back down, in front of the panicked bot. Why wasn't he destroying the thing? Where was his slag about never being apart, never letting go, no matter what? 

"What's going on?! Why aren't you stopping me?!" 

"Why should I?" Gears bit his lip hard to avoid spilling the beans. "I find your hobby cute. It almost looks like it could work. And thank you." 

Gears was confused. What did he miss? "For what exactly?" 

"Silly, you know why." Scavenger sounded happy, then complacent as he answered the question. "For asking me to get the materials. I thought I couldn't possibly find anything without my scanner. But I did. It felt good to do something right for once. You knew exactly what I needed to cheer up." Scavenger embraced the minibot in a tight hug. 

"So... You think... that I asked you the stuff," Gears started slowly "So you could prove that you're capable of getting it without your tail?" Scavenger eagerly nodded. "And what about of this thing?" 

"It's cute. Does it light up? Maybe we could make it dance. Y'know, like this," Scavenger moved his arms around in an inelegant beat. 

"... Sure. Why not. Why don'tcha get the right materials for it. You might not have another chance." 

Scavenger smiled and nodded vigorously. "You're right! Oh this is great! A project! Do you know what we need?" 

"Surprise me!" Gears offered a fake enthusiastic smile. The Constructicon seemed pumped with energy. 

"Okay! I'll see you soon dear!" Scavenger nuzzled Gears before scampering off out of the base. 

Gears let out a sigh of relief. What incredible stupid luck. He wondered if Primus decided to smile on him for once.  _It's about time._

OoOoOoOo

Gears connected the last wires and watched as the lights blinked to life. They weren't stable; the power source was weak. But he didn't have to send a long message, just enough to reach the Ark. 

He looked at the device with expectation. He fiddled with antennae. And he waited. "C'mon, work. Please..." Finally a static noise filled the room mixed with a crackling buzz. Gears perked up. 

"Hello? Hey! Can you guys hear me? Hey!" 

Nothing. 

He wasn't getting through to the Ark. 

"Frag it! Frag it! Frag it all to the smelter!" He yelled and punched the device. The static noise stopped. The light showing the strength was slowly dying. Gears spark plummeted to its core and he felt like giving up. It was hopeless; utterly hopeless.  
Then, an unexpected miracle occurred; a small sound, other than static, could be heard. Gears strained his audio to hear the faint, but pit-spawned recognisable music Blaster kept flooding the frequencies with! He contacted the Ark but he couldn't join the crew because the Communication Officer was jamming the airwaves! 

"You damned glitch!" He insulted out. "What the slag is your problem! Can't you get that no-one gives a smelting cog about your damned noise!" 

The music stopped. 

"Woah there, why the hate?" Blaster's groovy voice answered. 

"Why?! Because I'm calling an emergency and instead of a 'How can I assist you?' I get nauseous sounds disrupting my brainwaves." Blaster didn't reply for several seconds. "Hey! Don't go silent on me because you're not doing your job!" 

"Wait... who's this?" 

"Who do you think?!" It was insulting that the Autobot Communication Officer had to ask. Didn't they know he was absent? 

"Wha-- Gears! Holy Primus' aft! You're alive." 

"Would I be anything else?" He replied dryly. 

"We thought you were dead! We all saw you blow up." 

"Huh?" 

"Yeah, we gave you a funeral..." 

"Was it nice?" 

"You would have complained." Gears smiled, an honest one, even though no one could see him. It felt good to have a conversation with someone other than a delusional mech who twisted all his sentences. He felt like laughing. It bubbled up from his spark and caught up in his throat as a strangled sob. 

"I know you're though little buddy, but how did you survived being blown to smithereens?" 

"Easy, I wasn't. But i'm telling you a falling bridge does as much damage." 

"Falling bridge? When -- Wait, wait, I have to loop in Prowl." It didn't take long for the cool authoritarian voice of the Autobot second in command to fill the air. 

"What is your position?" 

"I don't know. Some old Decepticon base"

"Why does old Buckethead want you? Does he need your chip for a--"

"Blaster, silence." Prowl interrupted. "Our priority is locating Gears. Start triangulating his position from the signal." 

"Ah, yes sir." It was relieving to hear Prowl's no-nonsense tone. It felt like things were taken care of; he could relax. Everything would be okay. 

"Gears, what's your current situation?" 

"Desperate," Gears replied giddy. He could imagine Prowl's annoyance by his answer. But he didn't care! They were coming to get him. He was going back home. Free. 

"We are cu--ently forming an extr--tion party. Can you stay in your current lo--tion?" Some of Prowl's words were getting cut off by static. The device wasn't going to last any longer. 

"If I could move, I'd already be back." 

"S--y t--re--We'-l --- - - there-. Un-er--ood-?" The last message was mostly made of static. However, he had a good idea of the last sentence. 

"The signal's breaking up!" He told them. He didn't know if it went through or not. "Hey! You still there? Hey!" The device choked again before going completely silent. He wanted the static back. He wanted Blaster's infernal music. 

It was another waiting game. Who would come in first? Scavenger or the Autobots? 

Resigned, Gears straighten his back and focused on the entrance, willing it to open soon. 

OoOoOoOo

According to the fluffy clock he found the previous day, two days have gone by since contacting the Ark. Gears started to worry that maybe he imagined the whole conversation. If it was the case, he was marvelled by the ingenuity of his imagination. Was Scavenger's imagination this real? 

Speaking of the fool, where was he? Shouldn't he be back? 

The minibot felt drained, but refused to recharge. He wanted to be aware the moment someone would enter. 

He tinkered around the communication device to keep busy. Maybe he could make contact again, ask for an ETA and reassure himself that he wasn't insane. Help was coming, they had to. 

Each time he turned a screw, or bent an antenna he checked the door. He stared at it for a few minutes before convincing himself to work on the device some more. 

In one of the moments where he stared lengthily at the entrance, it opened. Gears sparks constricted. Was it his rescue or... 

"Hi honey! I found great things! I'm sure you'll enjoy them." Of course. It had to be him. Gears flopped on the berth, defeated. 

"Honey? Oh, were you recharging? Sorry I woke you." Scavenger laid down and pulled Gears to him. Gears didn't replied or even fought back. "Are you okay? You don't seem alright. Are you sick? Honey? G-Gears?" 

Gears sighed profoundly. "I just can't anymore." 

"Can't what?" 

"Get my hopes up. Expecting someone to come, whisk me away from you." 

"What? I don't understand. What are you talking about?" 

"Nothing. Shut up and recharge." Gears cuddled up to Scavenger. Might as well get warmth and comfort. However, Scavenger started to pull away. 

"I'm sorry... I can't sleep here tonight... I have to go back to the Nemesis." The rejection from Scavenger pissed of Gears, and he didn't know why. He felt  _hurt_  by it. 

"Frag it! Fine leave me alone them." 

"G-Gears, please don't take it like this. I'd love to stay, but Scrapper is expecting me back." 

"I don't care! Leave! Leave! Gah! Just leave!" Gears pushed and punched the other away. Scavenger didn't resist and after a few hits, he managed to get out of harm's way. 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Scavenger said to his upset lover. "I'll be back tomorrow. I swear. We'll spend time together. All day." 

Gears glared and curled up, ignoring the apologizing Decepticon. 

"Honey? Please, don't be mad..." Scavenger tried again, a soothing servo petting the angry minibot. Scavenger waiting and after obtaining no reply, the Constructicon hang his head in defeat. Heavy, shuffling pedes left the area and Gears was left alone. Again. 

OoOoOoO

A loud explosion startled Gears from his fitful slumber. He sat up, back straight, and spark pounding as he saw shadows slink around. 

"Area clear! Move out!" A recognizable authoritarian voice rang out. Two sets of pedes cautiously moved forward, following the order. Gears was too shocked to call out to them. There was no mistaking Prowl's voice. The light from outside the base allowed him to make out the familiar frames of Hound and Trailbreaker. 

They moved in sync, each analysing their side of the room. Hound was the first to spot him or - more accurately smell him. 

"Here Prowl!" He called out. He came closer, and knelt down, slowly extending an arm as to not frighten Gears. This cause the minibot to snap out from his initial shock of being rescued. 

"For frag's sake. I ain't a turbofox ready to bolt away, you dolt!" 

Hound froze, then he couldn't contain his laughter. It was a mixed laughter composed of his usual good-nature and relief. "Gears! You're alright! You're, you're! Ha! Oh man! We thought we lost you!" 

"I heard I went out with a bang." 

"Like fireworks." The green tracker probably would have continued his conversation, but the Autobot SIC strolled up to them. "Now's not the time for trivial talk. The mission is still ongoing." 

"Oh, yes sir," answered a subdued Hound. He erased the joyous smile of finding a lost comrade. But his excited energy was still palpable. 

"Gears, are you wounded? Can you transform?" 

"My legs don't work,"  _didn't you notice?_ , Gears almost added. "And transforming is out of the question," I don't want to go through that painful hell again.

"Right. Hound," Prowl said in a clipped tone then turned away. Hound stalled for a moment before realising that Prowl was expecting him to carry Gears out. 

"Slaggin' son of a glitch," muttered Gears. "And to say I actually missed his jerkiness." Hound's engine gave an amused rumble from the comment. 

Hound carefully cradled Gears in his arms, while the minibot held tightly the taller mech's neck. Outside, the sun was raising and the clear light stung Gears' darkness accustomed optics. Even though it was painful, he found it refreshing. He forced himself to keep them open and observe his surroundings, especially the present Autobots. If he blinked, they might disappear like a figment of his imagination. 

Prowl stood guarded as he gazed around. Trailbreaker was behind them, keeping the rear safe. He noticed in the distance, three coloured specs. He managed to identify them as Sunstreaker, Sideswipe and Bluestreak. He heard the later speak from his rescuer's commlink. 

"Approaching Decepticon. Single. I thi--"

' _Oh, Primus, frag no._ '

"Designation," Prowl asked. 

"A Constructicon," there was a slight pause as Bluestreak looked through his files.  _'Primus, don't let it be him. Not now. Not now.'_ "Scavenger. What would--"

 _'Damn it.'_

"Where's the rest of the gestalt?" Prowl interrupted. He pulled out his rifle in the eventually of a fight. Trailbreaker did the same, but with less of certitude. 

"I don't see them in my scope. Mayb--"

"Sideswipe, Sunstreaker; spread out and find them." They didn't acknowledge the order, but they transformed and rolled out. 

"He's alone," Gears informed Prowl. "It's only him. It's always him. No one else." The SIC turned around and analysed the minibot's words. 

"Elaborate." 

"The frag more you want me to say? Damn it all! Just get me out of here." Prowl kept a solid optic on Gears, and evaluated the request. Impatient, Gears trashed in Hound's arms. "Get me out of here, get me out!" 

Hound tightened his grip on Gears to avoid injuries; on him and the struggling minibot. "Woah, it's okay. Calm down, please? You're going to hurt yourself. Prowl? Huh, Prowl? Sir?" 

Prowl didn't answer verbally to Hound. Instead, he lifted a hand to silence the tracker and turned his attention on the arriving Decepticon. In his panic, Gears hadn't noticed his captor approaching. He tried freeing himself again, but he was being constricted. It felt suffocating. He didn't want to be held. "Let me go. Let go. Let go! Stop it, stop it." 

"I can't let you got Gears," Hound pleaded. "You're okay. You're safe. Everything's fine, okay?" He didn't know why, but his words caused the minibot to panic even more. 

Scavenger looked confused by the presence of so many Autobots. His spark clenched seeing his lover struggling in the arms of a handsome green mech. 

"W-what's going on here..?" He asked. He took a step forward, but Trailbreaker intercepted him with his forcefield. Scavenger ran into it, then tapped on it. "What's, what are you doing! Let go of him." He moved aside, skirting the force field, trying to find a way to reach his distressed lover. "Let go of him! He doesn't want to be with you!" He punched the field a few times then tried again to bypass it. 

Trailbreaker kept the shield up, following the frustrated mech's movements. Although the Decepticon wasn't actively trying to destroy it, it was straining just to keep it up. "Prowl?" 

Prowl hadn't lowered his guard down nor his rifle, ready to shoot and take down the Constructicon if he were to defeat the forcefield. Although the situation required more investigation, priority was to remove Gears from the area. 

"Hound, take Gears away." He called the twins on the comm-link. "Regroup to me for reinforcement and escort. Bluestreak, keep an eye out for incoming Decepticons. But be ready at any moment to incapacitate Scavenger." 

Hound nodded and backed away from the confrontation area. Scavenger started to become more agitated, howling in anger that Gears didn't want to leave. He was fighting to stay! It was obvious! 

Gears, on the other hand, ignored the Constructicon's pleas and kept begging and fighting Hound to take him away. 

"Shhh, it's okay mech. We're going home, 'kay." Hound comforted. His words didn't seem to have any effect; Gears' tough-guy act was currently shattered. As they retreated, Sunstreaker rolled by at top speed, while Sideswipe drifted to a stop, transformed and protected Hound's back. 

"Frag," Sideswipe commented as he checked Gears. "The pit is wrong?" 

Hound shook his head, and his silence told the red twin to stop talking and do his job. 

\- - - 

TBC


	12. Epilogue Gears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warning:** Implied non-con, Stockholm syndrome, coping, denial  
>  **Summary:** Scavenger found a half-dead minibot (Gears) and decided to adopt him as his pet. Epilogue tine!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Pairing/Characters:** Gears, Ratchet, Optimus, Prowl, Jazz, autobots  
>  **Disclaimer:** Not mine, Hasbro's and other people.  
>  **Author's Note:** This should be the last part of "Finders, Keepers". I mean... Gears is safe now. This part was beta-ed by Yavieriel.

Gears came online slowly. Before his optics could adjust, his HUD assaulted him with multiple status updates. He rebooted his optics in surprised and tried to understand all the information. Everything was muddy and his processor had trouble following. He soon discovered that the lag was the result of a sedation programme.

"Mhm... ahn... bah." he groaned. His mouth felt pasty. He swallowed and tried again. "Mhhum, bleeh... dang."

"Gears?" Ratchet asked. A white and red blob entering his visual field.

"Hurrump."

"Are you in pain?"

"Y-yes..." he managed croaked."It's too orange..." he continued, commenting on the gaudy colour inside of the medbay. "It's making my optics sore..." He covered his optics with one hand and left it there.

Gears' irrelevant remark caused Ratchet to grin. If he could complain about such things, he was fine. When Gears was brought in, he was in the throes of a solid panic attack, and Ratchet had loaded a sedation programme to avoid further damage. While he was out, he repaired the multiple injuries. Some wires had wrongly fused, forcing the medic to cut out and replace entire sections. When all the hardware was taken care of, he disabled the programme. He stood next to Gears, monitoring his health signs as he woke.

"Other than the colour, are you in any kind pain? Does your HUD show all the correct systems?"

"But it's very orange. It's--" Gears broke off at the sudden realisation. He removed the arm that covered his optics and stared at the ceiling in intense contemplation. "Orange... Orange! I'm on the Ark! "

Ratchet remembered to be nice. He bit down on his glossa and answered with a simple: "Yes."

"This is real, right?" He seemed surprised by the fact. "I mean, I always told you that sometimes my optic sensors create ghost images. Which, by the way, I do have! I don't care what your test tells ya. You're checking them wrong." After this sudden outburst he calmed down, almost mesmerized by his surroundings. "But this is really real."

Again, Ratchet kept his glossa in check. Usually he would have smacked Gears for telling him he wasn't doing his job right. But for today, at least until the sedation programme completely worn off, he'd let it slide. "Okay Gears, I'm going to check your systems."

After a quiet moment, Gears answered with a subdued "Okay".

"Then I'm going to ask you to recharge. Sedation doesn't help processor defragmentation."

"Okay." A beat went by before the minibot suddenly panicked. "No, wait!" He struggled and tried to pull something from his subspace. Nothing came up. "What? Where is it?! No, no! I had it! Damn it!"

"Gears, calm down!"

"The pad! It's important. It's not there!" Gears thrashed around, trying to dig deeper in his subspace pocket.

Ratchet's revolve crumbled and he restrained Gears to the medical berth. The patches were still fresh. It wouldn't do to have Gears tear them up. He gave his patient a stern warning glare.

"Gears! We removed everything from subspace when you were brought in. Standard procedure!" Ratchet's no-nonsense tone snapped Gears back to reality.

"Standard procedure..? Okay. But where is it?"

"Prowl most likely still has it."

Gears reviewed the information, and then nodded. "Okay. Good. What did he say? Will they use it? Was it worth it? "

"I don't know. You'll get to ask him yourself after you've recharged, alright?" Ratchet had hoped he wouldn't have to enable the sedation programme again. However, Gears was calming down on his own. The minibot was a well known basket case, but to panic so easily was worrisome.

"Right... Okay." The panic wore the minibot out. He offline his optics and was out like a light. Ratchet took the opportunity to do a complete systems check-up. After making sure that his patient was on the path to recovery, he commed Prowl to give him a status update on Gears.

OoOoOoOoOo

When Gears awoke later that day, his mind was clear of the sedation programme. It still took him a few moments to realise where he was. Part of him was glad, almost giddy. But another part didn't know how to react and it left him confused.

"Are you in any pain?" Ratchet asked as a greeting.

"Does you being a pain in the aft count?" was the automatic reply.

Ratchet glared. He refused to be goaded in a fight. Optimus and Prowl were on their way. Although they knew he had a horrible bedside manner, especially when it came to a difficult patient like Gears, they wouldn't take it kindly if he throttled the minibot.

"Be serious, would you?!"

"But I am!" After a few seconds, Gears admitted defeat. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Are you asking me to tell you everything that's wrong? And you'll listen for once?" Gears cleared his throat, readying his list of ailments.

"Oh, shut up," Ratchet told him, convinced that Gears was physically sound if he wanted to complain about petty things. Gears pouted. He wanted to add something, but Optimus and Prowl entered the medbay.

Prowl entered stiffly, doorwings in a high V. Optimus entered at a slower pace, carefully taking in the scene. He came close and pulled a guest chair near the medical bed. Prowl stood behind, in a professional enforcer pose.

Optimus was silent, searching for the right word to offer his rescued soldier. He hated when their lives were threatened on the battlefield. His spark sank at the thought of the ordeal Gears went through. He blamed himself for having been duped by a decoy, his lack of awareness prolonging the minibot's captivity. He didn't know exactly what had occurred, save what Prowl and Ratchet had gathered.

Now he had to welcome his lost comrade and ask him to recount his time spent behind enemy lines. It would be a confidential debriefing, but there were questions that needed to be asked. Prowl was determined to know how Gears had come into possession of a datapad filled with such precious intelligence.

His second in command had coolly relayed the extraction mission. He had also explained his thoughts on Gears' condition according to his observations and Ratchet's findings. He didn't sugar-coated it when he informed Optimus that abuse had likely taken place. However, that was only the most probable scenario. There was a chance that the fraternization between Gears and the Constructicon Scavenger was consensual. Prowl never flinched when he told Optimus of this possibility, one that left the leader of the Autobots sickened. Still, Prowl insisted that a throughout investigation had to be conducted to rule out any chance of treason.

Prowl offered to interview Gears by himself, but Optimus promptly refused. His second in command, as competent as he was, often lacked any empathy. Gears shouldn't be bullied into telling them. He knew it was necessary to obtain the information, but Optimus believed that he should be the one to hear firsthand about his soldier's suffering.

As he requested, Ratchet contacted them when he was confident that Gears was stable enough to handle questioning. He hoped to make it quick and not too traumatising for the poor minibot.

"Good evening Gears," Optimus greeted after he gathered his thoughts. "How are you feeling?"

"Good, I'd say," Gears replied. Optimus gravely nodded.

Prowl laid his hand on his leader’s shoulder. "Sir, if you are uncomfortable, I will take care of this."

"No. No, this is my responsibility. Gears, I'm sorry but I will have to ask difficult questions. I understand that they might be sensitive, but answers are needed."

Gears stiffened. He didn't want to answer anything. They should leave him alone and forget whatever happened to him.

"Gears, may I?" Optimus was caring, but still firm.

"What's there to ask?! I'm back and I'm alright. End of story."

"We would like to know what association you had with Constructicon Scavenger."

Gears’ servos clenched he vented out the panic that started to rise. He didn't want to hear that name again. He didn't want to think about the fool. He refused to answer, and ignored his visitors’ presence.

"Gears?" Optimus called gently, but the minibot stayed silent. Optimus decided that the reaction was as good as any answer. They'd write in the report what they knew and leave it at that."I understand."

"Sir," Prowl said. "Not answering isn't a proper answer. It could mean anything. I need to clear any possibility of treason from his record. This could be simply an elaborate ploy to give out false information and lead us into a trap."

Optimus glared hard at his second in command, but Prowl ignored the look.

"Ratchet confirmed that he was un-hacked. Thus, he isn't under any kind of control. Gears could have been a full participant in his disappearance. He could have voluntarily agreed to any relationship which may or may not have turned sour over time. Desertion or treason charges may have to be applied."

Gears felt dizzy, hearing the words Prowl was spouting. He resisted the urge to cry out in anger, to scream what he went through. Instead he gritted his denta and refused to say anything. He didn't want them to know. He wanted to be left alone, not questioned!

"Or, as previously mentioned, everything could be an elaborated hoax." Prowl continued, oblivious to Gears' reaction or Optimus' hardened stare. "I wouldn't put it beyond the Decepticons to seriously wound one of ours so we would avoid arduous questioning. Also, we must not forget about torture. We need to know what kind of information Gears might have revealed. This is important and we can't let the unease of one Autobot damage the rest."

Optimus knew the reasoning and didn't want to be reminded of it. He hated the way Prowl could keep himself distanced from his emotions. It made his spark burn with anger and pain. Instead of lashing out, he calmly reminded himself that this was the exact reason why Prowl was chosen as the second in command. He vented deeply and gave his orders.

"The answers will not be for today. Continue to work on confirming the authenticity of the information you already posses and let the rest be."

"But sir,-"

"Enough!" Optimus didn't often raise his voice toward his subordinates, but when he did they quickly fell into place. Prowl was no different, as he lowered his head at the chastisement. Optimus gently wished Gears a good recovery and hoped to see him around soon. Gears didn't respond, staring in the opposite direction, coldly waiting for his guests to leave.

The leader of the Autobots gave a sad sigh and left with his second trailing behind. They thanked Ratchet for allowing them to see Gears. The medic acknowledged Optimus' thanks and glared at Prowl. No one was allowed to cause pain, emotional or otherwise, to his patients. Later, he'd have to fiercely remind the Praxian of that fact.

Ratchet came to Gears and placed a hand on his shoulder. The reaction was immediate. Gears slapped the hand away and snapped out of his silent trance. "Don't touch me!"

"I'm going to set the sedation programme on low, just enough so you can get a decent recharge until tomorrow morning." Ratchet offer wasn't a request. Gears didn't fight it. He wanted the dark oblivion the sedation gave him. The medic fiddled with the wire to raise the percentage and a few minutes later Gears fell asleep.

OoOoOoOoO

He woke up and found that the medbay was in the night cycle. The lights were dimmed; Ratchet was nowhere to be seen, probably off-duty. He understood the medic's absence; his condition wasn't life-threatening after all. However, he found it strange that Ratchet would have timed his wakening for when no-one was watching him.

"Hey," Gears jumped in surprised as someone greeted him from the right. In the dark, he noticed Jazz's gleaming blue visor. In his hand he was holding the medical wire that controlled the sedation dose. "Oh, sorry man, didn't want to frighten you."

"Yeah? Well you did. What the frag d'you want?" Gears stayed guarded. He felt uncomfortable with the night time visit from the bot in command of the Spec Ops division. One that was currently playing with an important medical wire.

"I'll go straight to the point," he held out a datapad. Gears recognised it immediately as being the one that had belonged to Scavenger. "I have some questions. Let's talk, fully off-record. Wouldn't want Ratchet to know of this visit, y'know? I just need to know how you got this. If it's the real deal...” He trailed off, a hopeful glint in his visor. "Let's just say, it'll help a lot with the war effort. So, spill."

Gears glared, but still answered with gritted denta. "He gave it to me."

"Scavenger?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"'Cuz I was bored out of my slagging mind. He thought it would entertain me."

"Blaster said something about a bridge. It fell on you?" Gears frowned by the subject change, but nodded. He decided to elaborate. Somehow, the lack of sickening compassion from Optimus and the clipped jerkiness from Prowl made the answers come easier.

"Yeah. There was a battle, one of the big ones. It was my day off but everyone was called in for reinforcements. I’m speeding along the road. Next thing I knew I was cursing Primus for my rotten luck as the bridge dropped."

Jazz bobbed his head in thought. When Gears’ disappearance was noted, they had investigated the surrounding areas. Gears’ tracks had been erased from there by the human workers fixing the bridge. Hound swore the bridge was involved, but he only had his gut instinct as proof.

"Scavenger found you," it wasn't a question, but a statement. "He kept you hidden from the others. I knew ol' Bucket-head was lying when he agreed to the exchange. He didn't have you, and he didn't know what Scavenger was up to." Gears didn't feel it necessary to add anything to Jazz’s deduction.

"So what was Scavenger up to?" The way Jazz said it worried Gears. It sounded like a loaded question. He shrugged and tried to answer as nonchalantly as possible.

"He's an idiot. He just wanted to friend to show off his junk to." Gears congratulated himself on not stumbling over the word friend. Scavenger's addled mind wanted a lover; scratch that, a true love.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

There was a pause as Jazz scrutinized Gears' face. The minibot didn't turn away. "Alright. See anything of interest?"

"Iron Maidens are a very impractical way to store spices. I still don't get what the use of a bee translator is. And someone was stupid enough to create a cacti couch. "

Jazz was perplexed by the reply but he did avoid saying 'huh?'. "Right. Okay. And because you were such a good friend, he gifted you with a datapad with their ship's blueprints, the weak points and the duty rooster... the materials for their upcoming projects..."

"He's stupid. He never understood anything right. He didn't even get that I was building an emergency communicator right under his visor." He added the next part softly. "The fool even got me the missing components." Suddenly he felt a pang of guilt. He remembered Scavenger’s happiness to please him. He hated himself for the guilt he was feeling. He shouldn't feel any remorse for what he did! Was this why he didn't want to talk about seducing Scavenger out of the battle? He gave a groan of frustration.

"Hum?"

"Nothing. Just nothing! D'you have anything else to ask!?" He had a brief recollection of seeing Scavenger at the moment of his rescue. The Constructicon was howling in pain and anger. Was he captured? Did they hurt him? He was already wounded! Stop! Stop thinking about him! He got what was coming to him. The ‘con could be dead for all he cared!

"Is he dead?" Why was he unable to shut up?!

"No. The rest of the Constructicon gestalt came to his rescue. It came to a standstill. Both camps returned safely."

"Oh." He was relieved. He hated being relieved.

"Gears, are you oka--"

"I'm fine!" He snapped. "Got all the answers you wanted?"

"Yeah, I'm satisfied. No one should bother with these questions. If they do, you're allowed to punch them."

"Really? Even Prowl?"

"Sure, but this is all off-record. So you can't say I told you you could." Jazz fiddled with the wire and soon Gears felt the sedation take him under. "Good job, man. I know it ain't easy. We all had to make sacrifices." The minibot was too muddled to reply. He wasn't even certain he understood what was implied.

OoOoOoOo

It was two more days before Ratchet approved his release from the medbay. It wasn't because he was at optimal performance either. Gears’ complaining and the constant requests from the minibots were driving the medic insane. So he authorised an early release. Gears was on medical leave, but at least he wasn't confined in the medbay anymore.

Upon his release he was pulled to the rec room by Bumblebee. He wasn’t given a say in the matter. There, most of the Ark was present to welcome him back. He didn't know what the higher-ups had told the crew about his absence, but as long as they didn't bombard him with questions he was content. The party was peaceful, with Blaster in a corner pouting that he couldn't play his music. 'Thank Primus for small mercies', thought Gears. Everyone was in front of the TV, the couch's centre place left open for him.

As he sat down, Bumblebee turned the screen on. "We made sure to tape every episode so you'd be up to date!" The soft, dramatic music of 'As the kitchen sinks' started playing. It was strange for him, but Gears was misty-opticked at hearing the first notes.

"Thanks guys," he croaked. There was a slight uneasiness in the room at his reaction. Bumblebee was about to turn off the screen but Gears stopped him. "Frag it, leave it on. You don't know how much I missed it. You bet I'm gonna make you all watch it with me!"

The Autobots chucked, seeing his reaction to the soap opera as a joke. The show was a reminder that things were back to normal; that he was back among friends. The ordeal was over. He shrugged off worried glances when an unexpected sob slipped out. He was all right. He was safe. Everything would be perfect from now on.


	13. Epilogue Scavenger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pairing/Characters: Scavenger, Constructicons  
> Warning: Implied non-con,  
> Summary: Scavenger found a half-dead minibot (Gears) and decided to adopted him as his pet. Scavenger's epilogue!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Okay, I lied. This is the final part! Scavenger gets to have a last scene too! This part was beta-ed by Yavieriel.

Those meddling Autobots! How did they find his secret hide-out?! Why were they taking Gears away? He didn't want to be part of the war anymore. He wished for peace and the chance to build cute devices with his bot. They had no right to force him back to the front lines. It was cruel. He was wounded too, his legs didn't work anymore.

"Let him go!" Scavenger screamed at them. A blasted forcefield was preventing him from rescuing his lover. Another mech, one of those psychotic anti-air twins, joined the green mech. He was dangerous! "Get away! Leave him alone!" Scavenger pulled out his blaster and shot at the red front liner. Scavenger howled as it bounced off the forcefield. He shot again and again but the result was always the same. He stopped when Gears disappeared from his visual range. "No! Bring him back!"

He pounded the forcefield with his fists, but to no avail. He tried to out-run it, but it seemed to follow his movements.

"Constructicon Scavenger, surrender now," said the black and white bot standing in front of him, weapon raised. Scavenger recognised him as the second in command of the Autobots.

"Surrender! Why would I? You should surrender and bring Gears back!"

"Constructicon Scavenger, you are currently surrounded and outnumbered. Surrender now and come peacefully. Otherwise we will be forced to incapacitate you."

"Where are you taking Gears? Don't hurt him." Scavenger's last request perplexed Prowl. Why would a Decepticon believe that they would hurt one of their own? Why would a Decepticon even care? He glanced toward Trailbreaker for a possible explanation. The black mech simply gave him a shrug. Prowl decided to humour the Constructicon. He figured he'd be less aggressive that way.

"Gears is returning to the Ark."

"Why? He's okay here. I take really good care of him!"

"He needs medical care," Prowl replied curtly. Scavenger seemed to reflect over the answer.

"Oh...I guess that's true... Can I- I mean, can I come with you guys then? I'll be there when he wakes up? He likes when I'm there." Again Prowl glanced at Trailbreaker to see if the other mech could decode the deceit. Trailbreaker gave him a puzzled look. Taking a chance, Prowl ordered Scavenger to lay down his weapon, and empty his subspace pockets. Without a fight, Scavenger complied.

"Now, raise your hands above your head and stay where you are." The Constructicon respectfully did as he was told. Once Prowl was satisfied he nodded to Trailbreaker to remove the forcefield. Trailbreaker sighed in relief and shook his head to dispel the dizziness that plagued him when he concentrated too long on maintaining a forcefield. Sunstreaker doubled his guard, seeing as the truck was currently at less than optimal capacity.

Prowl carefully approached Scavenger with Sunstreaker shadowing him, ready to take action at the merest indication of a threat. The former enforcer slipped the stasis cuffs on the Decepticon. At the moment he was going to lock them in place, his comm came to life with Bluestreak's voice.

"Prowl, watch out!" Instinct pushed Sunstreaker to roll Prowl out of the way. A laser beam narrowly missed them and shattered a boulder. Scavenger merely stood confused and looked behind him. There stood Scrapper, rifle smoking.

"The Constructicons are here," buzzed Bluesteak on the comm. "Two are down, but they busted my sniper. I know I should've brought a second one, but I didn't think I would need a second. So I brought an assault rifle instead. It saved my plating, it did. Because if I hadn't had it, I wouldn't have been able to defend myself you know." Bluestreak’s ramblings went on, but Prowl ignored him. Sunstreaker was already exchanging fire against Scrapper. Behind him, Trailbreaker was holding off against Hook.

Scavenger stood baffled amidst the fight. He was wondering what he should do when Bonecrusher dragged him by the arm to cover.

"You dolt. Can't believe you surrendered without a fight." He pulled at the stasis cuffs and stared when they came off easily. "They weren't even locked? Why the frag were you just standing there, you limp wheel?"

"They were goin--"

"Aw, shut up." He called to his leader on the comm link, "Scrapper, I got the idiot. Can we ditch this joint?"

"Affirmative. Team, time to punch out." No-one argued and they moved away from the danger zone. Bonecrusher grabbed hold of Scavenger, forcing him to follow.

"Y'know, I miss your tail. It was a great handle to get your aft moving," he told his reluctant brother. Scavenger ignored the jab and kept looking back. He hoped to miraculously see his lover rush to his side. He sighed. He was too far away. But the Autobots were his friends. They should be telling the truth about taking care of him. Once he got fixed up, they could arrange secret meetings.

His team ignored Scavenger's mood on the return journey to the Nemesis. Bonecrusher teased Long Haul for getting sent out of the fight so early on by the young Praxian. Meanwhile, Hook mocked Mixmaster for getting his barrel shattered and stuck to the ground by the hardened cement. Scrapper let them banter as they wished, keeping a keen optic on the unusually silent Scavenger.

When they entered their common room, Scrapper dismissed all of them except Scavenger. Bonecrusher and Long Haul chuckled at the knowledge that Scavenger was in trouble. Mixmaster was kind enough to offer a sympathetic 'Good luck', but Hook felt above the order and stayed. He busied himself at his worktable, seemingly ignoring the conversation.

Scrapper paced in front of Scavenger as the cheerless mech sat on one of the recharge bunks.

"I'm at wit's end with you, Scavenger." There was disappointment laced with frustration in the tone. "I reasoned with you, I gave you warnings, I applied disciplinary actions, and yet you act out. Why? Are you dissatisfied with your work load? If you want something changed you know you have to file a complaint."

"...,"

"If you're having a dispute with someone from the team, or another Decepticon for that matter, you have to inform me, you understand that right?"

Scavenger nodded.

"Good. Now I want to know what the frag is going on!"

"Y-you won't like it." piped Scavenger.

"I'm already not liking it. You've been an embarrassment to us. What if Lord Megatron doesn't trust us anymore? Where would we get our contracts? We need the work."

Scavenger always found it weird when Scrapper talked like that. How could they get fired from the army, he wondered. But Hook always told him to shut up if Scrapper spoke like that.

"I'm sorry...I didn't want anything bad to happen. I was just happy." Scrapper stood, arms crossed. His glare bored into Scavenger waiting for him to elaborate on his nonsense.

"So it's true what Swindle was babbling about to Soundwave? That you found something priceless?"

Scavenger nodded. "I didn't want you to take it away. I wanted to show, but you guys didn't want me to."

"So it's out of spite?"

"Yeah, well, no. At the beginning yeah... because you were mean and called it scrap. He's not and I love him."

Scrapper stood shellshocked. "He?"

Scavenger nodded, and a dopey smile crept onto his lips as he thought about his lover. "He's great. And funny too. He likes my collection." Seeing Scrapper had stopped talking, Scavenger saw it as an opportunity to described Gears some more. However, Hook's fits of laughter in the background annoyed him.

"Oh ho, that's priceless!"

The sound snapped Scrapper from his shock. "Hook, silence!" Instead of heeding his leader's order, he came closer, chuckling.

"Really Scrapper, you should have realised it by now!"

"Realised what?" Hook said nothing, patiently waiting for Scrapper to put all the pieces in place. "To the pit with everything," he muttered what he figured it out. "If you knew about it, why didn't you mention it?"

"And let our poor little Scavenger be all tore up because he lost his new toy so quickly? Bonecrusher and Long Haul would have broken the dear. Was this one still living when the Autobots got him?"

"Of course he was!" replied Scavenger, outraged by the implication. "I took good care of him!" Hook gave a condescending smile. "I did!"

Scrapper felt his processors clogging up and rubbed his forehead. He didn't want to go through another vorn with a moping Scavenger. Maybe he could promise the return of his Autobot if he behaved. One look from Hook told him the medic had the same idea. They'd better make sure that Scavenger's adventure was covered up. He'd probably have to talk with Soundwave to keep things quiet. Better to have to deal with some blackmail from the third in command than Megatron's wrath.

"Get yourself cleaned up and ready for surgery. We're going to reinstall your scanner. But believe me; if you embarrass us again I'm really giving it to Hook for dissection."

Scavenger nodded, and eagerly stood up.

"And," continued Scrapper, "if you prove yourself to be exemplary, we'll let you visit your, uh," Scrapper searched for the proper word.

"Treasure," supplied Hook, crooked smile on his lips.

"Really?"

"Yes. You'll do your best for us? And for the Decepticons?"

Again, Scavenger nodded vigorously. "Thanks guys!" He jumped and hugged both of them. Part of him felt bad for having shut his brother out of his new life with Gears. He shouldn't have worried so much. They were supportive after all. Everything would be perfect from now on.

\- - -  
The End


End file.
